Jurgen Klopp is not one to have many regrets — that does tend to happen when you have Premier League, Champions League and Bundesliga honors to your name. But he has conceded that there is one player he wishes he had signed when he had the chance.
In his Liverpool days, Klopp boasted a pretty flawless transfer record. Alongside Michael Edwards, whose reputation soared alongside the German’s, he constructed an all-conquering squad from the ground up.
A handful of moves didn’t quite work out, mainly due to injuries, with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain among the first to spring to mind. But with budgets well below rivals like Manchester City, Liverpool simply could not afford to get too much wrong in the transfer market, with its remarkable hit rate a necessary requirement to allow Klopp to compete.
Yet while most of the transfers Klopp did make ended up going well, every manager has a plethora of “nearly” players. The way some people tell it, Arsene Wenger nearly signed just about every half-decent footballer under the sun during his time at Arsenal.
There are some standout names at Liverpool. Jude Bellingham was heavily linked in Klopp’s latter years in charge, while the long-running marquee transfer rumor before that was Kylian Mbappe.
How close either of those moves got, only Klopp and a handful of others will know. But the former Liverpool boss has not picked out either as his one transfer market regret.
For that, it’s necessary to go back to his Borussia Dortmund days. Klopp was presented the chance to sign an exciting young Hamburg prospect by the name of Heung-min Son.
(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“I didn’t sign Son from Tottenham, at that time I think he was at Hamburg,” Klopp told a recent audience. He was in Cape Town to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Hout Bay United Football Community.
“I don’t even remember why [I didn’t sign him],” Klopp admitted. “And just facing him in the Premier League [later on with Liverpool], I thought ‘My God, you dumb s—!” It’s crazy. But that’s pretty much it.”
Klopp also name-checked Sadio Mane. Of course, he went on to sign him at Liverpool — but he told the audience that he had previously passed on the chance to take him to Borussia Dortmund for a far lower fee.
Aside from that, Klopp insisted he had no regrets. That’s despite admitting that Kevin De Bruyne came very close to joining him at Borussia Dortmund, only for the move to collapse at the last minute.
But you can see why Son is the one to stand out. Even in Klopp’s Liverpool days,, there was always a sense that the Korean would be a perfect fit for the system — but with Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, the manager didn’t go too far wrong.
