Jurgen Klopp backs fringe players for staying at Liverpool and bolstering squad

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes his fringe players have made the right choice in staying at the club to bolster the squad in their quest for trophies rather than seeking more playing time elsewhere.

Takumi Minamino, who scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Norwich which secured Klopp’s first FA Cup quarter-final, is a prime example of what his manager was alluding to.

The Japan international, who a year after arriving from RB Salzburg in January 2020 moved to Southampton on loan, was attracting interest from Monaco and Leeds in the January transfer window.

There was never any great desire to sell the 27-year-old, nor was the player pushing for a move, and after playing a significant role in helping guide the club to their first League Cup win in a decade at the weekend Minamino was at it again against the Canaries in another cup competition.

“For me, to be a player of Liverpool FC is actually the best place you can be,” said Klopp, who made 10 changes from their Wembley final win over Chelsea which gave the likes of Minamino, Joe Gomez, Divock Origi, Kostas Tsimikas and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rare starts.

“But it means you have to deal with situations you would not have to deal with maybe somewhere else because there you play all the time.

“But then you have no chance to play a final maybe, or more finals maybe, maybe it’s not so easy, or you have no chance to win silverware.

“That’s the decision the players have to make. But the door is always open (at Anfield) because you will get your chances, and then you have to deliver, and then you are part of it.”

The depth of Liverpool’s squad, arguably the strongest in a generation, meant that even though players like Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho, Trent