Our View: Klopp has signed the wrong player for Liverpool

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Liverpool got their summer business off to a good start by splashing £36 million on Ibrahima Konate.

It’s no secret that Liverpool needed defensive reinforcements after what happened last season.

But did Jurgen Klopp sign the right player? After seeing Raphael Varane’s performance for France last night, potentially not.

Konate might be a world beater in years to come but, for now, he’s just a 22-year-old with only 41 Bundesliga starts on his CV and £36 million is one hell of a price.

In May, it was reported by The Manchester Evening News that the Anfield club were in talks over bringing Varane to Anfield.

Ready-made star

He was exceptional against Germany in his country’s Euro 2020 opener last night and with his contract expiring next summer, Real simply have to sell this summer to avoid losing him on a free, especially in light of reports that he won’t be signing a new deal.

And it might be a tad ambitious to believe Liverpool could’ve got him for the same amount as they paid for Konate.

But it’s likely that Klopp and Michael Edwards wouldn’t have had to add too much more to convince the Spanish giants to sell.

At 28, Varane is very much at the peak of his powers, a ready-made star, and Liverpool have much more chance of winning the Premier League next season with him than they do with Konate.

As mentioned, the young Frenchman clearly has a bright future ahead of him, but Varane’s display last night is a reminder that he’s one of Europe’s finest central defenders and maybe, just maybe, the Reds should’ve put the Konate fee in trying to lure him to Merseyside.