Jurgen Klopp announcement makes Manchester United's next two decisions even more important

The biggest compliment one can pay Jurgen Klopp is many Manchester United fans wish they had him.

Klopp was the fans' favourite to replace David Moyes in 2014 but Ed Woodward was the kingmaker. The crown weighed heavily on Woodward. Klopp brought the Premier League crown to Anfield.

For that alone, Klopp will be immortalised at Anfield, possibly in bronze. He deserves to be bracketed with Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly.

Five meaningful trophies (and counting?) in eight-and-a-half years do Klopp a disservice. He quickly implemented an identity at Liverpool and they were on an upward curve from the moment he touched down at John Lennon Airport in October 2015.

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A League Cup final and a Europa League final in his first season preceded a progressive third-place finish in his second season. The first of three Champions League finals followed in 2018 before Liverpool chiselled a sixth European Cup onto the honours' board in 2019.

By then, they had emerged as Manchester City's prime challengers, taking the title tussle to the wire in 2018-19. The next season, Liverpool were irrepressible and the champions-elect as early as January.

Gallingly for the United followers in the Anfield Road End in January 2020, that was the day The Kop crowed, "We're gonna win the league." They did.

A drop-off in front of an empty Anfield in 2020-21 prompted Klopp to raise the bar again. Liverpool won both domestic cups in 2021-22, lost the title by a point and the European Cup to Real Madrid in Paris.

Another League Cup beckons next month but the outpouring of grief at Klopp's announcement highlights what a seismic moment