Jurgen Klopp says German players are more interested in coming to Liverpool since he became the club’s manager.
Klopp, who took charge at Anfield in October, is expected to overhaul his squad this summer. He has been linked with a number of German players, most notably Bayern Munich’s World Cup winner, Mario Gotze, who played under Klopp at his former club, Borussia Dortmund but also Cologne’s international left-back Jonas Hector.
Liverpool, resisted the temptation to make any signings in January, but they have already agreed a deal to sign Schalke defender Joel Matip this summer and Klopp expects to make further signings from Germany.
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“I don’t believe anybody needs to fear us, but it’s a fact that through me Liverpool have become more interesting for German players,” Klopp told Sport1.
“If our interest matches with that of the player, we won’t back away from signing him just because he’s German – that would be nonsense – but we are not limited to the Bundesliga.
“We are looking globally, but more important than where a player is from is that he’s the right player for us.”
Hector, meanwhile, has sought to explain his recent suggestion that he was interested in a move to Liverpool.
Hector said he had not been referring specifically to Liverpool when he revealed he was amenable to leaving Cologne this summer.
“It’s a general rule if managers from big clubs with a long tradition were to call,” he told kicker, before telling the reporter: “The same applies for you. If a paper you are interested were to call you, you’d also consider it.”
The 25-year-old defender has established himself in Joachim Low’s Germany squad since making his debut against Gibraltar in November 2014. He scored his first goal for the national team in the 4-1 friendly win against Italy on Tuesday.
