‘Champions League will not affect Liverpool transfer plans’

LONDON: Failing to secure a Champions League spot will not affect Liverpool’s transfer activities in the close season, manager Juergen Klopp has said.

The Merseyside club finished eighth in the Premier League and will miss out on Europe’s lucrative elite club competition for a second consecutive season if they lose to Sevilla in the Europa League final later on Wednesday.

Klopp, however, said the club’s ability to sign new players was not contingent on the lure of Champions League football.

“Nobody has said to me that if we’re not in the Champions League that affects things,” the German told the Liverpool Echo.

“Hopefully we will never talk about the money around signings.

“Not because it’s not a big number or something but because if we take a player it’s because we believe he fits what we need, not because he’s expensive or he’s cheap.

“The former Borussia Dortmund manager, who replaced Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool boss in October, has already signed Schalke 04 defender Joel Matip and Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic.

Liverpool, whose last European final appearance was against AC Milan in the Champions League in 2007, are hoping to end an 11-year wait for continental success at St Jakob-Park in Basel.