Jurgen Klopp aims a cheeky dig at Chelsea and the £168m midfield duo they beat Liverpool to as he claims the Reds were ‘lucky’ to miss out on the signings… before lauding Wataru Endo

Jurgen Klopp has made a cheeky dig at summer targets Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, claiming that Liverpool were ‘lucky’ to miss out on the pair.

The German manager made the comments at a test event for the opening of the club’s newly expanded Anfield Road stand, addressing a crowd of approximately 7,000 from the pitch. 

In the summer window, Liverpool saw midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho leave the club and had gone head-to-head with Chelsea to sign Caicedo and Lavia, who snubbed the Reds before ultimately joining Chelsea for a combined fee of £168million. 

While concerns were raised after Liverpool had missed out on their main targets, Klopp brought in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo, who have all impressed for the Reds this season, helping them leapfrog Arsenal at the top of the league. 

And speaking on his summer business, Klopp told the fans inside Anfield: ‘The summer we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say, “My god, were we lucky, eh?”. 

Jurgen Klopp has joked that Liverpool were ‘lucky’ to miss out on their summer targets 

Ex-Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo snubbed the Reds by moving to Chelsea in the summer

‘We didn’t know that in that moment and it didn’t feel like it in that moment, but yeah, I’m really happy that it worked out, but you never know before.”

The Liverpool manager added, jovially: ‘We obviously realised that other central defensive midfielders don’t want to join Liverpool, you see what happens, and then we found [Wataru] Endo. He’s an exceptional player.’

Caicedo has struggled to impress for Chelsea in the middle of the park so far this season, with the Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino recently calling on him and midfield partner Enzo Fernandez ‘to improve’.

Lavia, meanwhile, has been ruled out for most of the season after he suffered an ankle injury in the summer, with Mail Sport previously reporting that he could be in line to make his competitive debut for the Blues in December.

Liverpool claimed a late 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace at the weekend that extended their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions. 

Romeo Lavia also opted for a move to Chelsea but has been sidelined with an ankle injury

Klopp heaped praise on summer signing Wataru Endo – labelling him as ‘an exceptional player’

Endo has been one of their star players of late, notably scoring an excellent goal to help Liverpool claim a dramatic 4-3 victory against Fulham at the start of the month. 

The Reds acquired the Japan international in the summer from Stuttgart for £16m, with Endo previously admitting that he is relishing the challenge of playing in the Premier League. 

‘Yes, it’s harder than I thought, but I’m very happy to be here,’ Endo said on how he’s found the physicality of the top-flight so far. 

‘I’m already 30 years old but I feel I have a chance to grow as a football player so I’m so happy to be here and I can improve,’ he added.