Jurgen Klopp has suggested that he doesn’t subscribe to Gary Neville’s theory that it’s too early for ‘Liverpool 2.0’ to win the Premier League title.
Klopp’s Reds have been in scintillating form this season, collecting 34 points from 15 games and are second in the table ahead of Saturday’s trip to struggling Crystal Palace. Former Manchester United captain Neville has explained on numerous occasions how he thinks that it’s too early for Liverpool to become champions again, having undergone a rebuild during the summer transfer window.
Captain Jordan Henderson, long-serving stalwart James Milner and midfield linchpin Fabinho all left the club ahead of the new season, forcing Klopp to freshen up his squad with the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. “They’ve definitely got a spirit, a fight, Klopp’s teams always do,” Neville decalred on his Sky Sports podcast
“I don’t think they’ll challenge for the title. Their midfield is better and settled in quicker than I thought they would, but I still think there will be some challenges that they haven’t got a true holding player.
“They’re in a pretty decent place. Klopp might not challenge for the title this season, but another transfer window or two, he may have something quite special.”
As Liverpool have continued to impress since the ex-United captain’s comments in October, it’s fair to say that Neville thinks Klopp’s men are ahead of schedule. On Friday, the Reds boss was asked if he agreed with that sentiment and replied: “I wanted to create a basis early in pre-season and then to become a real team, you have to overcome difficulties.
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“We got that delivered with red cards, being 1-0 down. I have no idea where we would have been without that. I am just happy with the development up until this point. We had to replace some of the biggest leaders in world football.”
It’s not just Neville who’s doubted their title chances either, as Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher admitted in October: “I don’t think Liverpool are quite ready to mount a serious challenge. Arsenal, of course did that last season. Even though they’ve made a good start, I don’t think they are playing as well as this time last season, so I don’t think everything is 100 per cent there.”
