Jurgen Klopp has hailed his recruitment team at Liverpool for Diogo Jota's impact, believing the club signed the forward at exactly the right time.
Jota arrived at Anfield from Wolves in September 2020 for a fee reported to be in the region of £41million, potentially rising to £45m.
Some eyebrows were raised at the time at the size of the fee for a player who had scored 16 goals in 48 games in all competitions in the 2019-20 season.
However, Jota has thrived at Liverpool under Klopp, scoring 13 in 30 appearances in his first season on Merseyside and 17 in 30 this term.
In the Premier League, the Portugal international has 12 in 2021-22, trailing only team-mate Mohamed Salah's 16 after his brace in Thursday's 2-0 win against Leicester City.
Ahead of Liverpool's trip to Burnley on Sunday, Klopp was asked what the key to Jota's signing and development have been.
"It is timing," he replied. "I am 100 per cent sure Diogo Jota a year later would have had offers from other top clubs; maybe in the year we wanted him that was not the case.
"Similar with Mo, if Mo had played another season at Roma in a similar manner, there would have been other clubs in.
"It is about what you need in the moment... The most important thing for a signing is that the team they join is in a good place. It means they don't have to change the world straight from the first day.
"Since I was here the team was always already good before a new player arrived, so they could settle in. Some quicker, some needed a bit more time.
"Fabinho was an example. When he came here it was really tricky to adapt to the way we play, the system we play. We tried to help him but it was not that we could do that overnight.
"If you have time, any player with the value of £40m, £50m, £60m or whatever, they are all quality, but you can't create a situation for them. The situation has to be there. When they arrive they have to join a settled team, and then they can help them to make the next step."
New Liverpool signing Luis Diaz impressed on his Premier League debut against Leicester, and Klopp was asked more generally about the success of the club's recruitment in recent years.
"There is no key apart from having smart people in the right positions, though I'm pretty sure other teams have that as well," he said.
"The boys we brought in, it is not that we bought bargains. Alisson was expensive but everyone sees how good he is, similar to Virgil [van Dijk].
"It is no secret that our transfers here have to hit the ground. It's not as if, as we say in Germany, we don't 'swim in money'. We are a wealthy club, no problems, but the policy is clear that we spend what we earn. For us, it is very important that we have to do absolutely the right thing.
"We have to think [many] times about it, and it might be that the player goes to another club, and we cannot change that, that's what we did so far. The club had incredible free transfers with James [Milner] and Joel [Matip] and we brought clear talents in with Robbo [Andrew Robertson] and other boys.
"I think transfers are very emotional. Fans think about it a lot with their heart, and we just have to think about it. It's not easy to ignore public pressure. It's almost like if you don't sign, you don't work, and we see it slightly different.
"We have brilliant people here who make really good proposals and we as coaches make good proposals as well and, in the end, so far we found, more often than not, the right solutions for this team."
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
Salah: There will be 'fire' if I speak after Klopp clash
Mohamed Salah refused to talk to the media following a touchline clash with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, saying there would be "fire" if he spoke.
Liverpool's Premier League title hopes are hanging by a thread following a 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday, and much of the discussion after the game centered on a flare-up between Salah and Klopp in the latter stages of the contest.
Salah, dropped from the starting XI for the visit to the London Stadium, was involved in a furious confrontation with Klopp prior to being substituted on, with the pair having to be separated by Joe Gomez and Darwin Nunez.
Following the game, Salah made a comment as he walked through the media area, refusing to conduct interviews with the press.
"If I speak today there will be fire," Salah stated as he refused to discuss the incident.
Klopp was also not very forthcoming on the confrontation after a draw which leaves his team two points off leaders Arsenal and a point behind second-placed Manchester City having played at least a game less than both of their title rivals.
When asked about the Salah dispute, Klopp told TNT Sports: "I'm not in the mood to talk about that to be honest or look at that at all."
Klopp has just three games left of his Liverpool tenure, and despite the success he has endured at Anfield, including a Premier League title and Champions League glory, it's at risk of ending in a damp squib.
Klopp hopes his team can avoid that disappointing conclusion by finding their form again over the remainder of the campaign.
"We had to win here, we knew that, and we didn't," Klopp continued. "Now we have a little bit more time between now and the next game.
"We try to get the boys ready again and we will go again."
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