Jurgen Klopp backtracks on previous Newcastle United rant with new transfer spending claim

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed his admiration for Eddie Howe and admitted he ‘didn’t really think about’ the financial resources on offer to the Newcastle United manager.

The Reds will travel to St James Park on Saturday evening looking to claim a win that would take them to within six points of their fourth-placed hosts in the race for a Champions League place. The performances of both sides have been somewhat surprising and are completely out of line with any pre-season predictions.

Klopp’s men were expected to be Manchester City’s main contenders for the Premier League title once again but are sat in ninth place ahead of the weekend after losing a third of their 21 league games so far this season.

By contrast, United have built on the momentum gained by a fine end to last season, losing just one of their 22 league game to push themselves firmly into the battle to a first return to the Champions League since the days of Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer.

Klopp praised Magpies manager Howe and believes the ‘super-intense football style’ implemented by the former Bournemouth boss has made his side a ‘proper threat for everybody’ in the Premier League.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Tyneside, he said: “Eddie has done an exceptional job, absolutely exceptional.

“The financial possibilities they have or will have in the future, it’s exceptional, but so far it’s not because of that at all. Eddie came there in a difficult situation, they stayed comfortably in the league and then the new season, it’s not like you didn’t recognise the team from last season or there was a complete overhaul.

“(They are) building on the team they had, improving players that were there like (Miguel) Almiron, I always liked him but with the way they are playing it fits him extremely well. Callum (Wilson) is obviously a fantastic striker, they brought in Isak, makes absolute sense, Bruno Guimaraes is a massive player.

“But then lots of players were already there and that speaks volumes about the manager and how much it turned it around and made them a proper threat for everybody with a super-intense football style. It’s a difficult team to play against.”

Liverpool remain the only side to have inflicted a Premier League defeat on Newcastle so far this season after Fabio Carvalho’s injury-time goal gave them a narrow 2-1 win over the Magpies on a boisterous night at Anfield in August.

The pre-match build-up and aftermath of that game were dominated by Klopp discussing Newcastle’s financial situation after the Saudi-led takeover of the club in October 2021. The former Borussia Dortmund manager claimed Newcastle had ‘no ceiling’ for their spending, despite Howe and Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth regularly referencing their battles with financial fair play regulations.

Despite his previous comments, Klopp claimed he has paid little attention to the Magpies financial resources and believes the two clubs are taking a similar approach in building their squads ‘step-by-step’.

“I didn’t really think about it. I don’t think a lot about Newcastle, it’s just in the moment you recognise what they are doing and that’s it. I had no idea for them or how they should do it. The only difference is where the money is coming from, that’s the only difference, the rest, apart from that, we did in a similar way. I don’t know exactly, but it’s not that we brought six players in, put eight out and we go again.

“You have to do it step-by-step.”

Klopp confirmed he will have the same squad that claimed a win in Monday’s Merseyside derby win over Everton.