Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp to hand opportunities to youth players before investing in squad

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists that he has not spent any time on setting his transfer targets for next summer as he wants to work with the players he currently possesses. The former Dortmund manager marked his entry into English football with his first league win, in a 3-1 demolition of Chelsea, which has taken them to within four points of a top four spot.

Klopp has a series of injuries to key players to deal with, having already had Joe Gomez and Danny Ings out for the rest of the season with anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Daniel Sturridge is still feeling his way into the squad and has spent a lot of time on the sidelines recuperating from a long setback, while Jordan Henderson is scheduled to return in late November after recovering from a broken foot.

Klopp draws comparison with his wife, stating that they have to be patient with the players and not try to replace them every time there is a problem. "I have been here three weeks. Everyone tells me: 'You want to buy this player and this player'. But development is to work with the players you have. It's like if you have a problem with your wife, you don't want to change every day," Klopp said, as quoted by the Mirror.

The German manager waxed lyrical about Philippe Coutinho following the Brazilian's impressive display against Chelsea where he scored two goals and led his side to an impressive victory over the Blues. Christian Benteke came off the bench to score the third but it was the 24-year-old whose name struck a chord with the Liverpool faithful.

"I love this player. Who can't love Phil Coutinho?" added Klopp. "I don't expect all day perfection. I expect you to work to get better every day. That is how we make the next steps. I'm not interested in what happened before. I've spoken to Phil, but my job is to help him, not to say what he is not doing good."