Jurgen Klopp defends Darwin Nunez fee, reflects on '£100m' claim

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp defends Darwin Nunez transfer fee and reflects on his £100m claim made in 2016

Darwin Nunez had a decent game against Manchester United in Liverpool’s pre-season defeat in Thailand, as Erik ten Hag bested Jurgen Klopp in a game that didn’t really matter that much.

But despite an average performance, the Uruguayan striker was the target of some online jokes and criticism once he missed a fairly easy chance inside the box during the same match. That is something that comes with the price tag.

Signed for a big fee, Nunez will attract a special spotlight during the course of next season. When he was brought in for a fee that could rise to £85million, people were quick to remind Klopp about the comments he made back in July 2016. Klopp said back then (h/t Liverpool Echo):

“If you bring one player in for £100million or whatever and he gets injured then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I’m not in a job anymore, because the game is about playing together. “

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp defends Darwin Nunez transfer fee and reflects on his £100m claim made in 2016 — Darwin Nunez in action for Liverpool. (Photo by Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images)

Klopp has now defended that claim to some extent. He says that when a striker like Nunez is available in the market, the club has to cough up the cash.

He then admitted that he doesn’t think it was the best statement to make in hindsight, and reminded people that the Reds try to balance their expenditure with sales.

“I said so many things in my life and life caught me then later and showed me that my imagination was obviously not clear enough for how quickly life can change. That’s how it is.”

“Our situation is always the same, we try to level it somehow (with sales)… I forgot that I said this but everybody reminded me and then I thought, ‘Oh, okay, yeah…’. I’ve said worse things in my life, to be honest, but that’s one of them.”

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are two of the biggest transfer success stories in recent PL history. (imago Images)

Nunez is 23 and is on the pathway to becoming an elite striker. The fee that we paid SL Benfica for him is warranted, and a chunk of it is in add-ons that the Reds would have to pay over time.

We have signed Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker for big amounts but notably sold Philippe Coutinho in and around that time to Barcelona. This summer, Takumi Minamino, Neco Williams and Sadio Mane’s exits brought in some cash.

Klopp spoke about wanting to do things ‘differently‘ back in 2016 and he has largely lived up to his promise. It is because of the club’s smart spending in the past that they can afford to spend on players in the present- in an economy hit by Covid-19.

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Liverpool.com claims our net spend during this window is just +£16m when we consider the arrivals and departures. That is smart business and one that would hopefully help us to gather funds and sign a world-class midfielder in the near future.