Last night, Jürgen Klopp watched on as Crystal Palace earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Manchester City at Selhurst Park.
The Liverpool boss revealed that he stopped watching the game after 65 minutes, and was surprised to hear that the Eagles grabbed a point.
Interestingly, the fact Klopp turned the game off at 65 minutes could suggest he was more interested in a Crystal Palace player than he was about watching the Citizens.
What’s the story?
Well, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo, Klopp said: “I watched the City game for exactly 65 minutes for analysis reasons, believe it or not. I thought Palace did well, but City did really well as well and just didn’t finish their situations off. I didn’t watch the last 30 minutes. Saw the result and was surprised.”
Intriguingly, that was the exact minute Patrick Vieira decided to withdraw Michael Olise in place of Jordan Ayew.
In our view, there could be something in this, as Liverpool are said to be admirers of the £8m man.
It was Eurosport who revealed that Liverpool were tracking Olise before he joined Crystal Palace, so this rumour could have legs.
Crystal Palace wonderkid would fit in well at Liverpool
If Klopp really was watching Olise against Manchester City, he’ll be impressed by what he saw.
The 20-year-old had a fairly quiet game by his standards, although it was his defensive work which Klopp will presumably take note of.
As WhoScored shows, Olise only recorded one shot, one dribble and one key pass, although he did make three successful tackles – only Tyrick Mitchell made more for the south Londoners.
As we know, Klopp likes his forwards to press intensely and win the ball high up the pitch, something Patrick Vieira is also coaching into his attackers.
Therefore, we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the Reds make a move for Olise sometime soon – he seems to be an ideal forward for Klopp.
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