Recently, Liverpool defender Alberto Moreno has faced a lot of criticism and the team has received offers to acquire a new left-back. Questions about the player's future and how he will resolve this situation have also been raised by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who devoted a lot of attention to answering questions about the left-back position in a press conference.
The Spanish player was criticized last season, with the most negative feedback coming after the Europa League final, where Liverpool lost to Sevilla. The beginning of this season has also been unsuccessful for the left-back, and after the 4-3 match against Arsenal, he was heavily criticized.
The 24-year-old player earned a penalty in the first match of the season, only to find himself in an ungrateful situation a minute later, allowing the first goal of the match. Before the weekend game, Klopp was prepared for questions about Moreno's performance.
"We always do this when someone doesn't perform well - should we talk about it in a press conference? No problem, I'm ready for it!"
However, the German manager was not willing to listen to criticism about Moreno's performance.
"Did he contribute to the situation where a penalty was given? Yes, then that's something we can talk about. We always talk about how we can defend together, because similar situations occurred before, two times before a penalty.
In my opinion, we could have avoided the situation five or six times, and at the end, Alberto could have done better - I agree with that. But that's it. I really don't understand what we are talking about.
Are we talking about Alberto Moreno because he didn't defend well in the game against Arsenal? I've told you many times that I'm not interested in other people's criticism. Alberto was in a certain position for a reason. I think about him exactly the way I want, not about other things.
Should I read the newspapers? You're saying the world is not happy with our left-back, right?"
Later, the coach was questioned whether the Reds will try to acquire another player for this position and he was open - if they had found a suitable left-back this summer, they would have already bought him. Now, he does not plan on new recruits in that position.
"We have to make decisions, and it would be best to have three players in each position. This way if one gets injured, the other gets injured, we still have options in that position. It's not about risking in one position. It's what we try to do in all positions - when we find the right player who has everything we need, money doesn't matter to us, we only care about their playing style, defensive and offensive abilities, and technical skills.
If we had found such a player - you would have heard about it, because we would have already made the transfer."
Klopp also revealed other players he can try in that position during the season - James Milner, Ragnar Klavan, and Nathaniel Clyne.
"We have a lot of players who, in our opinion, can play in that position and play in our style. You can say, 'they are not left-backs,' but we are not blind. I hear people are not happy with Alberto Moreno's situation. Then I can only apologize to you.
Milner can play in that position, we saw that in the match against Barcelona. I talked to him and asked for his opinion on this situation. He is an experienced player and I don't want to force him to play in a new position. I want players to believe in their own abilities to play in it.
Clyne played in that position, and we also have a great young player in Trent Alexander, who can play on the right side. If needed defensively, Ragnar Klavan could also play in that position. We have several options in that position and you say to buy another one. But that could only be done if we found a player we want."
Clearly, Klopp is not ready to buy a new player just because of Moreno's recent mistakes. The coach insists he still trusts all his players.
"We have built a team where everyone has the opportunity to play. The problem with transfers is that no one cares about the players who are already in our team. What should we do with them? Send them somewhere else? Players' commitments to the team are important, so we must respond to them in the same way. The most important thing is to work and improve.
Football is a game where you cannot play without making mistakes."
