Liverpool’s transfer business might not be moving fast enough for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, but now that the Europa League final is done and dusted, the German might be able to get a key bit of business done with AFC Ajax youngster Kasper Dolberg admitting that he wouldn’t be giving one thought to his future until the meeting with Manchester United in Sweden was over.
“I did say that I want to remain at Ajax for one more season”, said the youngster, speaking to Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf ahead of the Dutch club’s 2-0 loss in Stockholm. “But you saw last year what happened with Arek [Arkadiusz] Milik. A week after he said that he wants to stay for one more year, he went to Napoli,” explained the 19-year old. “Wednesday is an important game and I don’t want to think about a transfer. After the final I’ll join the Denmark national team and then I’ll look into it all.”
While Klopp is almost certain to add an attacker or two during the summer, it’s the other end of the pitch that he should be focusing on with Liverpool’s leaky defense a major cause for concern. The name of Southampton captain Virgil Van Dijk is being thrown around all the time, but they’re not the only ones sniffing around the former Celtic defender and competition will be fierce for his signature. And, obviously, the same can be said about Michael Keane with the Reds keeping one eye on the Burnley defender as they look to draft in a top class recruit to provide both competition and cover for Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren — though, much like the Saints with Van Dijk, the Clarets aren’t all too interest in selling.
“Let’s roll it forward a year — what’s the prize for staying up again, another £120-130 million? So if we miss out on one or two fees and get that, I know what I’d take,” said Burnley chairman Mike Garlick, insisting that they can hold on to their top players. “The most important thing for the fans to know is that we don’t actually have to sell any player. Going forward it’s got to be on our terms and terms that are right for us. Do we need to sell anyone? No,” insisted the Turf Moor man. “Right now there’s a lot of noise out there from the media but we haven’t had any formal interest in anyone. If we want to keep players, we’ll keep them.”
