Jurgen Klopp believes Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes have been Newcastle’s “standout signings” this summer, hailing our progress on and off the pitch under new owners and Eddie Howe.
The pair cost just shy of £95m and made up the bulk of our summer business, with the likes of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall also arriving on Tyneside over the past few weeks.
Speaking to the press on Merseyside this morning, the German described Newcastle as an “incredibly strong team”, believing we “fully deserved” to qualify for the Champions League and have a “super manager” in Eddie Howe.
The Reds boss also commented on our “super intense” style of play and “massive atmosphere”, revealing that his players have been working on this weekend’s game since last Sunday night.
He felt the 5-1 scoreline against Aston Villa flattered us slightly, feeling Emery’s side also played well, but complimented our “exceptional” counter attacks. Here’s what he’s had to say ahead of Sunday’s game:
“Newcastle is an incredibly strong team. Qualified for the Champions League. Fully deserved. Super development under Eddie Howe, smart business.
“The two standout signings this window – Tonali and Barnes. Really, really good business.
“Super intense style, massive atmosphere there. So this is a tough one. They played a really good first game, where Aston Villa were really good as well. In the end, the result probably didn’t reflect the full game.
“But in the end, how they used the counter attacks was absolutely exceptional. They have been really good since last year. They don’t concede a lot, they score, so that’s a proper game.
“We tried since Sunday night to make sure the players will be ready for it. Eddie is a super coach, a super manager.”
