'I'm not angry' - Jurgen Klopp confident over Liverpool transfer rebuild despite Jude Bellingham blow

Jurgen Klopp insists he is "not angry" at Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, despite the club admitting defeat in its bid to sign Jude Bellingham.

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WHAT HAPPENED? Speaking at a press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, ahead of his side's Premier League trip to Leeds United, Klopp was asked about Liverpool withdrawing from the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Bellingham this summer, and specifically about the decision-making process which has led the club to change tack and pursue alternative targets. Had, he was asked, the decision been made by the club's owners above his head due to budgetary constraints, and if so how did he feel about that?

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WHAT THEY SAID: In response, Klopp said: "What you want to know is, as I sit here, am I angry with our owners that we can’t do this or that? No I am not. I am not. I don’t agree all the time with everything we do, but I am employed here. I am not here to be angry about things that will work out or not work out. The way we did things in the past is the way we will do it in the future, that is the way."

AND WHAT'S MORE: Later, it was put to Klopp that Liverpool's lack of spending power, relative to their rivals at the top of the Premier League, would make it harder for them to bridge the gap that has emerged this season. He said: "It is clear other clubs can do, in some situations, more than us. I am the wrong person to ask about that, but that’s it. I am always here explaining it, and that is the bit that is not so cool to be honest. It is not my money we are talking about!"

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When it was then suggested that Klopp could, if he wished, look to manage a club with greater resources, he replied: "But this is my club. This is my club. What do you want to suggest, that I quit here and wait for the next top job?!"

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Liverpool's failure to land Bellingham, who has been pursued for more than a year, has left many supporters frustrated, and it remains to be seen what kind of recruitment the club can do this summer, when it will target at least two new midfield players. Options include Chelsea's Mason Mount, Inter's Nicolo Barella and Brighton duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo.

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Discussing that, Klopp added: “It is a heated thing, but now we see, there are 12 midfielders we could sign, stuff like this yeah, fine. There are a lot of good players out there, honestly, yeah a lot of good players - and we are interested in all good players, and some of them, will end up here. That is all."

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