Jürgen Klopp is believed to be willing to loan Mamadou Sakho out before the end of the transfer window after a chequered few months for the French centre-back.
Reports suggest that Sakho, who was banned in April for failing a drugs test before Uefa dropped the case in July, will be allowed to restore his match sharpness elsewhere, having not played in a competitive game since the 4-0 win over Everton on 20 April. Sakho scored in that game but his suspension stunted his progress and then he angered Klopp sufficiently to be sent home from the pre-season tour of the United States after a series of minor disciplinary breaches.
A heel injury has further hampered any attempts to re-establish himself in Klopp’s early-season thinking. Any loan move would not signal the end of the 26-year-old’s Liverpool career, with the intention being that he would return ready to reproduce the performances that made him a favourite at Anfield last season. Sakho joined from Paris Saint-Germain in September 2013 and became a key member of Klopp’s side after starting 2015-16 on the bench.
Meanwhile Klopp has warned others among his Liverpool players to expect to be disappointed as he does not intend to use cup competitions to give those on the fringes of his squad a run out. With no European football this season there is less pressure on the squad than there was during the 63 matches they were involved in on their run to the Capital One Cup and Europa League finals in the previous campaign.
Klopp is keen to establish some rhythm, having seen his side fire blanks in losing at Burnley a week after beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, but he wants his players to fight for their places.
It means changes will be kept to a minimum for Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie at the Championship side Burton Albion, leaving some players frustrated. “We will make changes but not big changes. It is not really likely we change seven or eight positions,” he said.
“I cannot give all players together the opportunity to play. Sometimes we have to work longer to change the situation. Of course each week in which they can’t or didn’t play it is not too good for a player but that is how it is in football. You accept this when you start playing the game. The only thing a player can do is work as hard as possible, to perform in each session and then the manager has to make a decision.”
Liverpool had 81% possession against Burnley and, despite having 26 shots, managed only five on target and rarely troubled Tom Heaton. “There was not enough desire in the last third,” said Klopp, who is likely to give Divock Origi and the new centre-back Joël Matip their first starts of the season at Burton. “We had so many moments around the box where we could have made better decisions.
“When we were ready for crossing we had no one in the box and that makes 0.0% sense. That is what I mean when I speak about desire. We had so many shots from outside [the box] and sometimes you have to try but it looked too early and kind of desperate.
“To create something like a real mentality you need time. The first game was very good, the second game not, so what’s the truth now? There is no pressure in this moment. It is more a chance to bring the Liverpool train in the right direction and that is what we want to do.”
Burton’s manager, Nigel Clough, meanwhile, insists the Brewers’ forthcoming matches against Liverpool and Derby are nowhere near as daunting as a “torturous” trip to Doncaster last season. Burton – a non-league side seven years ago – have experienced a rapid rise to compete at Championship level for the first time in their history. Clough’s team needed to avoid defeat against Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium in their final match of last term in order to clinch automatic promotion. With their nearest rivals, Walsall, leading 5-0 at Port Vale, the tension and pressure was intense, but Burton got the point they required courtesy of a goalless draw.
Clough views the visits of his former club and Derby as something everyone associated with the club should relish. “Obviously there’s no such thing as a free game because you want to win and get through but this is as close as it gets for us,” said Clough, who spent two and a half years with the Anfield club between 1993 and 1996. “Playing Liverpool and Derby this week is not pressure for us. Having to get a point away at Doncaster to win promotion – that is pressure. It was torturous. This is a brilliant week for the club, not a crucial week. “It’s 10 years since we played Manchester United in the FA Cup, so these games don’t come around very often for us. Ask our supporters. Never in their wildest dreams did they believe they’d be playing teams like this, never mind who we now play in the league week in, week out.
“It’s been an incredible 10 years for the club. Seven years in the Football League and we are competing in the Championship. The chairman keeps saying we have to keep pinching ourselves and he’s right. We are riding the crest of a wave and we’re loving every minute of it.”