Jürgen Klopp has said his first impression of Dejan Lovren has fuelled his belief Liverpool’s defence can cope without the injured Mamadou Sakho.
Klopp was the opposing manager when Lovren made his home debut for Liverpool in August 2014 and excelled in a 4-0 friendly win over Borussia Dortmund. However, the £20m recruit from Southampton has struggled to recreate that dominant form or secure a regular first-team place since then under competition from Sakho.
Lovren is set for an extended run in the Liverpool side because the France international is sidelined for six to eight weeks with knee ligament damage.
Before Saturday’s visit to Manchester City the Liverpool manager has cited that pre-season friendly as evidence of the level the Croatia international can achieve.
“With Dejan there will be absolutely no problem,” said Klopp. “These two guys [Martin Skrtel and Lovren] are healthy and so everything is good. Dejan has done a really good job since I’ve come in here.
“I saw his first game for Liverpool – it was against Dortmund when we lost by four. He was brilliant on that day. I’d heard not the best things about him since but during my time here he’s looked strong and everything is OK. As long as these two guys are feeling good then we don’t have a big problem and Mamadou is not 20 weeks out; it will be earlier than that so that’s good for us too.”
Klopp admits he is still evaluating the players he inherited from Brendan Rodgers and, despite being linked with a host of January signings, needs more time to decide who is, and who is not, wanted for the long term.
The Liverpool manager said: “To make a final judgment on the players I need much more time. I know about the business. We will have possibilities to change some things in January and in the summer but in this moment we have made no decisions because we don’t have to make them yet. We have time and we will see what is possible and what is not possible. We will see what’s necessary and what’s not necessary, that’s how we work.
“The players know that at one point in the season you have to make a decision about them. We are at a time when they can present positive arguments and say: ‘OK, we want to work together’. I don’t need to say this to them, they know it. In this moment we have made no decisions so I have time to judge.”
