A player the caliber of Timo Werner who has already scored over 30 goals in the season is hard to overlook, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has admitted. However, Klopp said his club had to get out of the talks because paying £50 million or more for the RB Leipzig striker would be hard to justify no matter the player's skills.
The German manager said it would not be right to spend huge money on a single player while Anfield stands to lose an estimated £150 million in revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic. The games have been suspended since March, and when the season is restarted, the matches will still be played behind closed doors.
That should mean the money will still not flow in, and according to Klopp: "All clubs are losing money."
Per The Sun, Klopp had decided that abandoning the deal was the right thing to do and good for the club in general because there is no assurance when the live spectators would be allowed in again. The prospect of making the same money before the coronavirus pandemic is dim.
"How do I discuss with the players about things like salary waivers and on the other hand buy a player for £50-60 million - we'd have to explain," the Reds manager was reported as saying.
Klopp explained that forcing the deal would mean Anfield will need to implement cost-cutting measures like slashing the pay the players and personnel are getting. The manager said doing that and splashing money on the Werner deal would be hard to justify.
The Liverpool manager insisted that decisions to be made by the club have to center on keeping things running, and that will greatly depend on realizing income and more so when financial pressures are in effect.
Meanwhile, it appeared that Frank Lampard's move of signing Werner that cost Chelsea £53 million in transfer fee and £200,000 for the 24-year-old's weekly wage brought him into a direct collision course with members of the club board.
The club board had preferred that Lampard opened talks on Arsenal team captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who could have been signed at a lower price due to the Gabon international expiring contract with the Gunners.
According to Express, a deal on Aubameyang was likewise favored as he's seen to be tried and tested in the Premier League competition.
Notwithstanding, Lampard stood pat on his decision, and the Blues boss made a promise on his German recruit that he will be a key factor in the Chelsea game plan.
