Jurgen Klopp has defended Liverpool’s decision to break the British transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
The Premier League champions completed the £100million deal earmier this month and the fee for the22-year-old Germany international could potentially become a British record.
There are £16m of add-ons included, which would surpass the existing mark of £115m which Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo in 2023.
It is understood Liverpool will be happy to pay these ‘aspirational bonuses’ as it will mean they have enjoyed considerable success at elite level.
Wirtz has signed a five-year contract and the capture of one of Europe’s most highly-rated talents is seen as a significant coup for the club having initially faced competition from Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
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Leverkusen had valued Wirtz at £126m but a compromise was reached last week, although the up-front fee easily outstrips the £85m deal Liverpool agreed with Benfica in 2022 for Darwin Nunez, who is expected to leave this summer.
During his own Anfield reign, Klopp infamously and regularly, cast envious glances at the likes of City and Manchester United and cried foul over their spending power.
The former Reds’ boss, however, believes his old club are simply moving with the times and is delighted to see them flexing their financial muscle in the transfer market.
‘We all agree that we are talking about a great player here, Klopp told Welt. ‘I know that I once said that I’m out if we pay £100m for a player. But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.
‘I don’t know for which position Arne has planned for Florian exactly. He is an outstanding player who can give something big to any club.
‘Whether he will make the reigning English champions even better, however, remains to be seen.’
Liverpool, meanwhile, continued their summer spree earlier this week with the addition of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth.
The 21-year-old is the club’s third arrival this summer, following Jeremie Frimpong and Wirtz.
And with Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili joining next month in a deal done 12 months ago there will be more than £200million of new talent present when pre-season training starts in a fortnight.
Kerkez, who links up with fellow Hungary international Dominik Szoboszlai at Anfield, is viewed as the long-term successor to 31-year-old Andy Robertson, who is a target for Atletico Madrid.
It is understood the club have no intention of forcing out the Scotland international, who started in 29 of his 33 Premier League appearances last season but is in the final year of his contract.
Liverpool new boy Kerkez said: ‘I’m really happy. It’s a real honour for me, a privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, (the) biggest club in England. I’m just really, really happy and excited.
‘After this, I’ll go home and in my hometown enjoy a few days, and then I can’t really wait to come back and put the training kit on and start to train and prepare for the season.’