Jurgen Klopp speaks on Emre Can's future after Liverpool get back to winning ways at Huddersfield
KEY POINTS
- German midfielder scored and earned man-of-the-match honours in a 3-0 Premier League win on Tuesday night.
- Juventus are said to still be in talks with Can, who has also attracted attention from Manchester City.
- Klopp hints that Liverpool could conduct more transfer business on deadline day, with Ovie Ejaria set to join Sunderland.
Keep track of all the confirmed deals with our LIVE transfer deadline day blog.
Jurgen Klopp has remained coy on the future of midfielder Emre Can after Liverpool's comfortable Premier League victory over Huddersfield Town, but insists that he will continue to select the German international if he carries on behaving impeccably and delivering on the pitch.
Can has entered the final six months of his contract on Merseyside and talks over a possible extension have long since stalled, with reigning Serie A champions Juventus still said to be negotiating a deal to sign him as a free agent in the summer.
The 24-year-old, also linked with Manchester City, provided a timely reminder of his quality on Tuesday evening (30 January) following a lacklustre display in the VAR-dominated FA Cup fourth-round defeat to West Bromwich Albion at the weekend, handing the visitors a deserved lead after 26 minutes with a long-range strike that deflected in off Philip Billing.
Asked for an update on man-of-the-match Can's future after a win that sent his side level on points with third-place Chelsea and five clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth, Klopp told BT Sport: "As long as he plays like this it has no influence on all the other things, so that's the most important thing.
"He was not too good to be honest in the last game so I had the choice of which player I wanted to stay on the pitch. He paid back obviously so that's nice.
"I've said it a few times, sometimes you want to buy a player and sometimes you want to keep a player and that's how it is. We can always make the biggest stories in the world of it but as long as people behave like Emre now behaves and delivers, everything is fine and normal in life.
"At the end, if we have to do it, then we shake hands and say goodbye. If he stays, then we also shake hands and say hello again. We will see."
Klopp, who says his decision to drop Virgil van Dijk to the bench against Huddersfield was for rotation purposes rather than forced by any injury setback, went onto confirm in his post-match press conference that there was "no chance" of Danny Ings following fellow striker Daniel Sturridge out of the Liverpool exit door on transfer deadline day.
Quizzed if the Reds could do any more business in the final few hours of the market, he said with a smile: "Maybe".
One player who is poised to leave Liverpool is Ovie Ejaria, with Chris Coleman confirming after Sunderland's 3-1 Championship defeat to relegation rivals Birmingham City that the young midfielder is joining the Black Cats on loan in a move that will allow Didier Ndong to head to Watford.
Forgotten winger Lazar Markovic is also likely to depart as Liverpool continue to hold talks with Swansea City and Wolfsburg, while defender Lloyd Jones is poised to join fourth-tier leaders Luton Town on a permanent deal.
