Why are you leaving now, Jurgen?! Liverpool look primed to end this season in style - even after Klopp's shock exit announcement

Things have obviously changed drastically in the interim. Klopp remains completely enamoured with the club but says he's now "running out of energy". As it turned out, going within two wins of a historic quadruple in 2022-23 didn't just mentally and physically drain Liverpool's players, who struggled for the majority of last season, it also took a heavy toll on their manager.

He didn't want to depart before putting the Reds back on track, though, and that's exactly what he's done, revamping and revitalising a Premier League-leading squad that is still fighting on all four fronts as February approaches.

Indeed, while Klopp's fatigue is wholly understandable, given his renowned work ethic and the way in which he commits himself so completely to a cause, the timing of his decision has come as such a surprise because Liverpool look perfectly placed to enjoy another era of sustained success under a charismatic leader that looked so focused and refreshed during the first half of the season.

Klopp has admitted that the 2022-23 campaign was "super-difficult", with a late-season rally not enough to secure Champions League football for a side packed with players suffering from a seriously heavy hangover after their heroic quadruple bid, and as he prepared to put things right, he found himself wondering how much longer he could go on.

The thing is, though, the growing concerns over Klopp's irritability last season dissipated during the early stages of the new season. There had been a fear that a high-octane coach who had spent seven seasons at his two previous clubs might be starting to feel the strain.

However, Klopp looked and sounded like his old self as Liverpool made a strong start to the current campaign - and no wonder, given it quickly became clear that the surgery he had been forced to carry out on his midfield had been an unmitigated success.

Klopp was desperately disappointed that Liverpool lost out on both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea during the summer - but it actually proved something of a blessing in disguise.

Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister, the players who have shared the No.6 role this season to excellent effect, were signed for a combined £51.2 million ($65m) - roughly the same amount Chelsea paid for Lavia, who has made just one Premier League appearance this season, and less than half the British-record fee (£115m/$146m) handed over to Brighton for the struggling Caicedo.

In addition, Ryan Gravenberch's potential is obvious even if he has only played in fits and starts, while Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of the signings of the season so far.

Liverpool may have lost a lot of experience when Fabinho and Jordan Henderson departed during the summer, but they've gained goals, dynamism and versatility, and the Reds' revamped midfield has been one of the key components in a surprise title challenge.

Homegrown talent has also played a pivotal role in that regard. Trent Alexander-Arnold's deployment as an auxiliary midfielder, which started during the tail end of last season, is proving a masterstroke, while Curtis Jones is finally delivering the kind of influential displays of which Klopp always believed him capable.

Harvey Elliott is also showing that he very much has it in him to become far more than a super-sub, and then there's the exciting young talents who are getting more and more game time, such as Bobby Clark and James McConnell, who capped a hugely impressive display against Norwich on Sunday with a lovely assist.

Let's not forget either that Stefan Bajcetic, who made such a massive impact in difficult circumstances last season, is approaching a return to action after injury issues connected to growing pains.

So, when one also factors the emergence of Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley as serious first-team options in defence, plus the excitement surrounding teenage attackers Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Trent Kone-Doherty, Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni, the future just looks so bright for Liverpool right now.

There are some contractual concerns regarding Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, whose deals expire in 2025, but even if they don't renew, both are now in their early-30s and will have to move on eventually anyway.

Finding worthy replacements will, of course, be nigh on impossible. It's difficult to think of a more dominant centre-back in world football than a fully-fit Van Dijk, while the outrageously expensive Kylian Mbappe is the only right winger in the game today that scores as freely as Salah?

Still, Quansah's remarkably rapid rise to prominence shows that solutions can sometimes be found from looking within, and even if a significant sum of money is required to fill two very considerable voids in the starting line-up, the small fortune Liverpool would make from selling Salah to Saudi Arabia would help balance the books.

And besides, it's not as if Liverpool have struggled to score goals or win games without Salah over the past few weeks. Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and, perhaps most crucially of all, Darwin Nunez have all chipped in while the now-injured Egyptian was away on international duty - and not one of those versatile forwards is over 27.

The bottom line is that Klopp's imminent exit is really only good news for Xabi Alonso, Germany and Manchester City. One of the most prestigious positions in world football is there for Alonso if he wants it, Germany's best coach is now available to take charge of the national team after Euro 2024 if he so chooses, while Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is going to be sleeping more soundly now that his greatest-ever rival is walking away from Anfield.

There is an obvious concern that Liverpool will collapse without Klopp - or that things could even fall apart before he leaves, given the distraction Friday's news has created. The man himself has called for calm and dismissed the idea that his new squad could collapse as quickly as it has been constructed.

"Give the boys a break," a clearly exasperated Klopp said ahead of Wednesday's Premier League clash with Chelsea. "Nobody has to worry. Everything will be fine, I am 100 percent sure." There's certainly no denying that no matter what happens between now and the end of the season, Klopp is going to leave Liverpool in excellent shape for his successor.

But, truth be told, that's only added to the sense of shock and frustration among the fans. They could not be more grateful for the way in which the manager has turned the club around since taking over in 2015 and are certain to give their beloved boss the send-off he deserves. They fully accept that he's earned the right to go out on his terms. They're still 'so glad he delivered what he said'. But it's still only natural that the stunned supporters also asking, 'Why now, Jurgen, why now?!'