At the moment, Liverpool are facing something of an injury crisis that has seen Joe Gomez and Danny Ings taken out for the season and left the squad woefully short on depth in just about every position on the pitch. Part of this problem stems from the fact that multiple first team players, most notably, Mario Balotelli, Lazar Markovic, and Tiago Ilori are currently out on loan to other teams. It's unknown whether Klopp would have chosen to use any of these players, were they at his disposal, but their absence has certainly made things harder for his threadbare squad.
Recently, Klopp opened about his feelings on this loan system, which were not super positive.
"Of course I am looking at the loan players," he said.
"I try to learn all about English football because it is completely different to other countries. Liverpool a few years ago had 20 to 25 players out on loan.
"It is not normal to have players on loan in Germany, but in England it is.
"When I have time I watch these players. I went to Wolverhampton to watch Ojo but he didn’t play!
It’s part of my job – what we do with the guys here and those out on loan. There will be a time when we have to make a decision.
"I’m not sure in this moment it’s always best to give young players to other clubs. I think it’s a kind of pressure you don’t need at that age.
"You play together with experienced players every day and have to show you are better than them. Everyone at home is expecting you to take the next step.
"Maybe we need to cool down the situation a little bit, hold on to these guys longer and let them play in our second team and develop as a team. We will see what we will do in the future.
"Usually a manager in England has not enough time to change things. But we will try to take our ideas and change a few things for the future."
The purpose of sending players out on loan is to get them extra playing time if they are unlikely to receive enough from their home team. It's supposed to give them experience and confidence, and in the best case scenario, lead to them rejoining their team older, wiser, and ready to play. This worked out well for players like Jordon Ibe, who benefited from their time on loan.
However, that hasn't seemed to be the case for many loans that Liverpool has made in the past few seasons. While some younger players have gone to lower league teams, Liverpool has also used their loans as a way to get rid of players that the manager no longer rates. Remember Luis Alberto? Technically he's still a Liverpool player.
And for other players like the aforementioned young winger Sheyi Ojo, being sent to sit on the bench for Wolverhampton does him no good, and might have the opposite affect of hurting his self-confidence.
Super rich teams like Chelsea and Manchester City can afford to send dozens of players on loan every season, but Liverpool don't have that same luxury. Yet, it's also important that young players get experience and a chance to prove their worth in a competitive league.
It's a tricky subject, but it's good to know that the new manager is showing an interest in this part of the game and in our young, promising players in general. Klopp is well-known for his eye for young talent, and it will be interesting to see which of our young players catches his critical eye.