"?Jurgen Klopp has named Liverpool centre-back Ragnar Klavan as a player he would have loved to see at Borussia Dortmund during his tenure at the club.
Klavan looks set to be used as a rotational option throughout the season, with Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren forming a potentially good looking centre-back partnership at the back for Liverpool. Klavan has come in for criticism so far this season, having played in Liverpool's 4-3 win over Arsenal and their 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
When asked about the defender during a press conference on Thursday, Klopp confirmed that the former Ausburg defender was someone who he had looked at during his time managing in Germany. During his time at Dortmund, Klopp was able to work with defenders like Mats Hummels, Neven Subotic and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, and felt Klavan would have been surplus to requirements.
"With Ragnar it's quite simple. I saw him playing for Augsburg. I was surprised they found a player like him and we didn't before "? I wasn't happy with this! But we didn't need a defender at Dortmund so I didn't go for him," Klopp "?told the Liverpool Echo.
"When I came here and came aware of our situation, he was very early in my idea. He is a wonderful football player "? with a little issue he is not 21 any more. It was a great opportunity. I did not have to convince him too much.
"I like to work together with players who really want to come. In the beginning a few people were surprised, but there's not a lot of questions about his quality now!"?