Klavan started the season in the starting line-up but has been nowhere to be seen in recent months.
Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan has admitted to the club’s official website that he has found it difficult to adapt to Jurgen Klopp’s coaching methods as his exclusion from the first-team continues.
The experienced Estonian international was a surprise arrival at Anfield this summer; the former Augsburg centre-back apparently impressing Klopp enough during his tenure at Borussia Dortmund to believe he could add a rugged steel to an often porous Liverpool back line.
However, after a positive pre-season, including a decent performance on his debut against Chelsea, Klavan has been usurped in the starting line-up by the rejuvenated Dejan Lovren and fellow Bundesliga import Joel Matip.
The 31-year-old has only made six appearances in all competitions for the Reds, his most recent Premier League action coming in a 5-1 hammering of Hull City in September, and he admits that, although he has relished working under the charismatic Klopp, it has been a difficult challenge familiarising himself with Liverpool’s famously swashbuckling style.
“I knew a little bit about how [Liverpool] played under [Klopp], but I didn’t know the detail behind it,” Klavan admits to the club’s official website.
“We are working on detail behind it. We are working on detail all the time here and it takes time to get used to this.
“I have never played this kind of style – I was used to different styles of football – so it was important we had a really good pre-season. We worked a lot in the summer.
“For me, I feel really lucky to be here every day playing for him and learning something new.”
Liverpool have only lost once in the Premier League this season, a shock 2-0 defeat to Burnley in August, with Klavan failing to prevent Stephen Defour barging past him to set up Andre Gray to seal the win.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
