Jurgen Klopp wants Liverpool to be ‘a new team and not the replica of the old’
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Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah could be key to the Reds' title hopes this season after a reported move to Saudi Arabia failed to materialise.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Liverpool are flying high in the English Premier League and manager Jurgen Klopp is looking towards to the future and not the past, as they prepare to travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the start of the season, the Reds have clinched three consecutive wins – over Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Aston Villa – and are third in the standings, behind only champions Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
“I really liked the Aston Villa game (3-0 win). It’s not that we’ve built a team now, we are in that process. It’s still early days, but I’m happy with the basis we can work on. I really, really love this team,” said Klopp, whose side finished fifth last season.
“Let’s go for it and we will see, we changed a few things, brought in new players. This is year one (again)... We want to become a new team and not the replica of the old.”
One old guard who Liverpool fans are happy with is Mohamed Salah, as the forward has remained at Merseyside despite relentless Saudi efforts to prise him away.
Looking ahead, the focus is on Wolves, and Klopp will be encouraged that his team are 15 games unbeaten in the English top flight, having scored in 14 of them.
They will be seeking revenge for their 3-0 loss to Wolves at Molineux last season, and the odds are against the hosts as they have lost 14 of their 18 league matches against Liverpool.
Klopp, however, will be missing the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, while he sweats on the condition of Darwin Nunez.
He also said South Americans Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister, who returned late from international duty, will face fitness assessments before the match.
Meanwhile, captain Virgil van Dijk has been banned for an extra game after admitting to a charge of improper conduct following his sending off in the match against Newcastle.
Klopp could hand a debut to deadline-day signing Ryan Gravenberch.
On the midfielder, he said: “He’s good in small spaces, he’s good in big spaces as well. He can accelerate. Good passer, good shooter. He’s working extremely hard, he’s a good guy with massive potential. He has to fit in, and he will, how long it will take, I don’t know. We will work on that.”
Wolves are 15th in the standings following a 3-2 loss at Crystal Palace.
They have played just one home league game, a 4-1 thumping by Brighton & Hove Albion. But before that, they had been on a five-game unbeaten streak at home, conceding just one goal.
Gary O’Neil will be seeking more goals from his attackers, with his team scoring just four goals in four games. The Wolves boss has highlighted South Korean Hwang Hee-chan – who has two goals – as his team’s threat.
“What he’s shown so far is that he has work rate and ability. He has physical attributes to cause problems at this level, so he’ll be extremely important with the chances we’re creating as he’s a good finisher,” he said. REUTERS
