Former Liverpool star John Barnes believes Jurgen Klopp’s impact at Anfield is comparable to that of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Klopp arrived at Anfield in 2015 and his influence on the club has led to notable success, culminating in last season’s record Premier League points tally for the Reds, as well as winning the Champions League.
The German has received many plaudits for his style of play since his arrival but there could be cause for concern amongst Liverpool fans, as Klopp has refused to tie himself down at Liverpool for longer than his current contract, which expires in 2022. There have been murmurings that he could take a sabbatical at that point.
When questioned whether Klopp is comparable to the likes of Ferguson and Wenger, and if Liverpool would be affected by his departure like Manchester United were, Barnes, who was speaking on behalf of bookmaker comparison site BonusCodeBets.co.uk, said:
“In terms of the impact yes but we’re not worried about that [finding a successor] because if he finished 10th this year then he won’t be here next season. There’s no point thinking about ‘let’s hope he signs a new contract’ because contracts mean nothing. I’m not worried about 2022, I’m worried about 2019/2020.”
Klopp remains fully concentrated on Liverpool, however, as he searches for his second major trophy with the club. Since arriving he has built a strong spirit in the dressing, and will look to quash any dispute which occurred between Mo Salah and Sadio Mane on Saturday.
Barnes believes that the former Borussia Dortmund manager would not allow any player to put themselves above the club, suggesting that is a dynamic which runs from the first-team down to youth level and a feature of the club which has allowed young players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez to develop into top-level professionals.
Having himself progressed into one of the best players in the county after joining the Reds at the age of 23 – being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1988 – Barnes believes that Liverpool remains a club where young players can thrive.
“At Liverpool because of the nature and essence of what Liverpool and Klopp are all about it’s not just the young players keeping their feet on the ground, it’s first-team players too because that’s what Liverpool is. As much as you may think Mo Salah may be a superstar he can’t act like a superstar because Klopp won’t put up with that.
“I can’t speak for other clubs but Man City, Arsenal or Tottenham where you may sometimes put some players ahead of others in terms of their status, that would never happen at Liverpool, so it is the right club for young players to learn humility.
“Even looking at older players like James Milner for example, everything he’s achieved, he’s still a very humble person and they’re the type of players that Klopp wants so I have no fear of any player at Liverpool, let alone young players, getting ideas above their station.”
Other than Alexander-Arnold, there hasn’t been an academy product who has worked his way into the first-team squad since Klopp arrived. He’s instead looked to the transfer market to improve his squad.
There are positive signs coming out of Liverpool’s youth system, with Harry Wilson proving himself a capable Premier League player with two goals in three league games on loan at Bournemouth, whilst Rhian Brewster was part of the matchday squad against Barcelona and Tottenham in the latter stages of the Champions League.
Despite that, the former England international predicts that there will be limited opportunities for young players this season due to Liverpool’s title ambitions, particularly because of “the midfielders and strikers Liverpool have, and what they have on the bench”.
Liverpool signed only one senior player to the squad in Adrian over the summer, but Barnes believes they are in a stronger position due to the return from injury of Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and indicated what success would be for the Reds this season.
“To be as consistent as they were last year, fighting on all fronts and getting to the latter stages of the Champions League and the cup competitions, and to be in with a chance of winning the league,” said Barnes.
“Of course I don’t expect Man City or Liverpool not to lose but I still think that those two will be the favourites for the Premier League title, they’ll be the most consistent teams and if come March Liverpool are in with a chance of pushing for the Premier League title and also in the Champions League then it would be a good season.
“If Liverpool don’t win the Champions League it doesn’t mean they’ve failed and if they don’t win the Premier League it doesn’t mean they’ve failed because it’s a very difficult competition.”
On the pitch Liverpool have enjoyed a successful start to the season, and victory over Burnley took them to a club-record 13 consecutive wins, but there has been discontent behind the scenes.
Saif Rubie, the agent of Bobby Duncan – who is part of Liverpool’s U23 squad – accused the club of mistreating the 18-year-old and causing harm to his mental health by refusing to sell him, a claim which Liverpool deny.
With Rubie having deleted the statement, as well as his Twitter account, and Duncan keen to get on with playing, Barnes issued a warning to the youngster.
“Duncan has to be very careful with his career with a) who he has as his agent and the route in terms of which he wants to go down because he’s a player for Liverpool who have signed him and supported him.
“I have no concern [about players’ mental health] because players are much better looked after now than they were in my day so I would doubt very much that any club, particularly in this climate, would ever even think about doing what was done in the past in terms of bullying because they know how precarious that situation is.
“My concern is about agents trying to get their players more money by making things up. Bobby Duncan played against Tranmere, scored in the first-team, he’s 18-year-old, I don’t see how that can be contrived in any way shape or form as built-up bullying.”