Klopp Coy on Transfers as Deadline Edges Closer

After a week featuring more cup action than a Starbucks counter during the morning rush, Liverpool fans can direct their attention to the next key event on the calendar--the closure of the mid-season transfer window at 11:00PM GMT on February 1, 2016. Having already spilled copious amounts of electronic ink over the ongoing Alex Teixeira negotiations (or lack thereof), journalists found more reasons to ask about transfers in the wake of Liverpool's 0-0 impasse against West Ham and the addition of yet another match to an already punishing fixture schedule.

Despite Jürgen Klopp having played down the need for mid-season reinforcements when he was first hired, surely the rash of injuries and the increasingly congested fixture schedule would conspire to force acquisitions for depth, if not for quality? The manager's answers, however, offered precious few hints about Liverpool's intentions as the transfer window draws to a close.

"We will not buy a team for a rematch," said Klopp following the West Ham encounter. "We will not buy 10 or 11 players, play West Ham again, and send them away again. I think it should not be the reason, one game more."

Klopp's response may come as a disappointment to those expecting a flurry of activity during the manager's first transfer window following his arrival. Some will have no doubt drawn inferences from the small army of players joining and leaving Borussia Dortmund (reaching double digits for both inbound and outbound transfers) over the course of Klopp's first season in charge.  Those expectations do not, however, take into account the  somewhat different circumstances in which Klopp finds himself now, as opposed to when he took the reins at the Westfalenstadion (fine, Signal Iduna Park) several years ago.

For starters, the mid-season winter break has always afforded Bundesliga clubs an opportunity for recovery, assessment and consolidation.  No similar luxury currently exists for the Liverpool manager.  In addition to not having a winter break, Klopp has had several key players unavailable for long spells due to the squad's well-documented injury woes.  On top of that, the Liverpool manager has only had a half-season in charge since Fenway Sports Group called time on Brendan Rodger's sputtering start to the 2015/16 campaign. Unsurprisingly, Klopp's remarks after the West Ham match suggest the manager is still looking to assess the tools at his disposal.

"Hopefully, one player or other will come back from injury in the next few weeks and then we’ll have enough players," he added. "For what happens in the transfer market, you have to wait in the next 48 hours and we will see if something happens or not."

Rather than pushing the club towards more signings, circumstances may instead set the stage for caution in the January transfer market.