As quoted by The Liverpool Echo, Liverpool’s legendary defender, Phil Thompson, has advised Jurgen Klopp to believe in much-criticised defender, Dejan Lovren, and feels that the Liverpool boss sold his best defender in the past transfer window – Mamadou Sakho.
Dejan Lovren was at the centre of criticism, after Liverpool were smashed 4-1 by Tottenham two Sundays ago at Wembley. The Croatian was substituted off the pitch by Jurgen Klopp after 31 minutes, when the Reds were already trailing 2-0.
A lot of Liverpool supporters were furious at the performance of the 28-year-old at the back-line and urged the German boss to exclude Lovren from the first-team. However, Lovren will be delighted to hear the support of former Liverpool defender Thompson, who represented the Reds for 13 years. Thompson feels that Jurgen Klopp should not treat Lovren the same way he treated Sakho, with the latter leaving for Crystal Palace this past summer in a £26 million deal.
“You can never disregard any player because you never know when you will need him,” Thompson said to the Liverpool Echo.
“I still believe we sold our best defender in the summer when Mamadou Sakho went to Crystal Palace. He was a warrior and a fighter. People say he looked ungainly but you knew what you got with him.
“I know there were issues off the field with Sakho and the manager took him out of the first team set-up. I was always a disciplinarian. It was one of the reasons why I was brought back into the football club by Gerard Houllier. But three months is plenty to isolate someone.”
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