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John Barnes warns new Chelsea signing could have caused 'problems' at Liverpool
Liverpool legend John Barnes has been speaking about Chelsea new boy Timo Werner.
Chelsea: Lampard says he is ‘excited’ to sign Werner
John Barnes believes Timo Werner could have caused "problems" for Jurgen Klopp if Liverpool had won the race for his signature. Chelsea pounced for the Germany hotshot after Anfield bosses cooled their interest due to financial concerns.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was eager to bring Werner to Merseyside but the coronavirus crisis prompted the club to reassess their financial budget.
He would have provided competition for the attacking trident of Roberto Firmimo, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
And Barnes believes Werner would not have been happy to sit on the bench if he had joined.
Speaking about Liverpool's chances in the summer transfer window, he told Sky Sports: "I feel they should be strengthening the squad – not necessarily going out to buy a superstar like Chelsea have done with Timo Werner.
"Would Werner have been happy to come here and not play and cause problems because he wants to play?
"I don’t think we’re going to go and buy superstars. I think we’re going to go out and strengthen the squad, but if you look at our best XI, I don’t think they’re going to look to upset that."
Liverpool kept their powder dry for the majority of the campaign, with only the £7.5m January signing of Takumi Minamino making much of a dent in their transfer budget.
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A number of pundits have suggested the Premier League winners need to strengthen to build on their title win.
But Klopp appears to have doubled down on the club's limited plans.
"I'm completely happy with my squad, 100 per cent," he said ahead of Wednesday's win against Chelsea.
"I was last year when everybody asked us to sign him and him and him. Because of our reasons, we didn’t do it. It’s not that we didn't want to do it.
"We try to make right decisions constantly, but then Covid came and changed the situation again and not for the better – for all business in the world, not just football.
"It’s not that we don't think we cannot improve, even on a transfer basis. We just do what is possible for us and what we are able to do."
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