Liverpool chiefs once ignored Jurgen Klopp’s transfer request and it changed their history forever

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Liverpool’s transfer model has come in for plenty of praise over recent years, as the club rebuilt from mid-table mediocrity towards title success.

Much of the revival occurred under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp, who brought in a gegenpressing style that took over the Premier League.

There were some smart signings around that era, including the likes of Roberto Firmino and Andy Robertson.

Liverpool were not scared to splash the cash either, bolstering Klopp’s ranks with big-money signings such as Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

The hierarchy at the club were doing everything in their power to give the manager what he needed to succeed.

However, in one instance, there was a slight disagreement on transfer targets as Liverpool chiefs ignored the German head coach’s preferred option, which proved to work out well.

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Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign Julian Brandt but Liverpool landed Mohamed Salah

Liverpool worked extremely hard to improve their processes in the transfer market, deploying a committee to oversee all of the signings.

Add the growing importance of data in the market, and the Reds were insistent on finding some of the best talent out there for a cheap price.

One star Klopp wanted was Julian Brandt, a young playmaker from Borussia Dortmund who was making quite the impact.

That was revealed by Liverpool’s former director of research, Ian Graham, when he spoke to BBC Sport about the possible transfer.

“Jurgen’s preferred option for that summer was Julian Brandt, who was a great player,” he revealed.

“Jurgen had obviously known him very well, coming from the Bundesliga, and knew the German market very well.”

Brandt never made that move, though, as Liverpool chiefs preferred a move for Mohamed Salah instead, back when he was at Roma.

Graham continued: “We agreed that Brandt was a very good young player but not a standout in the same way that Mo [Salah] was.

“From our data analysis point of view, Mo was the best young wide forward in Europe, full stop.”

Liverpool ended up paying £36.9 million for Salah in the end, as he joined in June 2017.

“Roma were under pressure to sell because their finances were not in a good place, so we knew he was available for a good price. He played a forward and wide role that we needed to fill at the time, whereas Brandt was more of an attacking midfielder.”

Given his tough spell at Chelsea, it was natural for there to be some questions surrounding how well Salah would fit at Liverpool.

Those were answered emphatically, as the Egyptian international went on to become one of the very best in the world.

Not many knew that at the time, not even Klopp, who had preferred the move for Brandt instead.

On how Klopp took that decision, Graham added: “It’s to Jurgen’s credit that he engaged in that debate in an honest way with his eyes open to say, ‘OK, I’m open to be convinced, show me that Mo is better’.”

It ended up truly changing everything for Liverpool, as the following years would prove with the forward in their ranks.

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Mohamed Salah’s transfer changed everything for Liverpool

Salah was the final piece of the puzzle for Liverpool’s frontline, which included Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

The trio were absolutely devastating, mixing up pace, technicality and skill to complement each other in the best way possible.

Salah repaid his transfer fee many times over, even in his early days at the club, but perhaps what truly marks him as a standout signing is his longevity.

At 33 years old, he is still performing at a world-class level, guiding Liverpool to more trophies along the way.

With nine trophies to his name over his spell at Liverpool, there is still time to add a few more to his name and continue that fairytale.

Who knows whether Brandt could’ve hit those heights, but it’s fair to say they are pretty lofty ones, thanks to Salah’s performances.