Jurgen Klopp has suggested Liverpool have plans beyond Cody Gakpo's signing for the January transfer window, but acknowledged they remain unsure if they will add to their ranks.
The arrival of Gakpo from PSV, fresh from a strong World Cup with the Netherlands in which he scored three goals, was confirmed on Wednesday as the Reds' first bit of business ahead of the New Year.
The Dutchman's acquisition is a key one for Klopp, but the German remained tight-lipped over what impact it will have on any further transfer targets.
"In principle it's like this for all people in the world," he said at a press conference on Thursday. "The money you spend has an impact on the money you can spend [in the future].
"It's not that it increases it. It has nothing to do with each other.
"We know what we want to do, and we will see if we can do it."
In adding Gakpo to his ranks, Klopp is able to plug a gap left by injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, both of whom are expected to be out for another two to three months.
The Reds manager said Gakpo's arrival was not a plan informed by that situation though, adding the transfer had been in the works prior to Diaz suffering a recent recurrence of his knee problem.
"The injuries were not at all an impact [on the signing]," he said. "We decided to do something from a sports point of view without having the financial green light already, two or three months ago."
Liverpool receive VAR audio of controversial disallowed Luis Diaz goal at Spurs
Liverpool have received the audio of the VAR review which led to a Luis Diaz goal wrongly being disallowed at Tottenham.
Miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper led to the goal being ruled out in Saturday’s Premier League fixture.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) acknowledged later that evening that a “significant human error” had occurred, and PA understands the audio linked to the incident has now been sent to Liverpool by PGMOL ahead of it being released publicly.
PA understands the audio could feature in the next ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ programme due to air on Monday night, if not sooner. But it is now understood the audio will definitely be released, it is just a question of when.
Liverpool are also understood to be appealing against a straight red card shown to Curtis Jones earlier in the match.
Diogo Jota was also sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.
England and his assistant VAR, Daniel Cook, have not been selected for Premier League matches this weekend following the Diaz incident.
Liverpool to be sent audio from VAR controversy before it is released publicly
Liverpool will be sent the audio from Saturday’s offside controversy at Tottenham first before it is released publicly, the PA news agency understands.
The club are understood to have requested the audio related to the “significant human error” which led to Luis Diaz’s goal against Spurs being disallowed, having released a statement on Sunday saying they would explore their options given the “clear need for escalation and resolution”.
PA understands the goal was not given due to a miscommunication between VAR Darren England and the on-field referee Simon Hooper.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited is understood to have always been keen to release the audio in a bid to provide transparency, and that first and foremost it must go to Liverpool.
The organisation has not ruled out either airing the audio in the next ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ programme which is scheduled for Monday next week, or possibly sooner than that.
England and his assistant VAR, Daniel Cook, have not been included among the officials for duty in the coming weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
VAR officials involved in Spurs-Liverpool ‘error’ not selected for this weekend
The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.
And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.
After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.
Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
