Aldridge makes Everton jibe after detailing Klopp’s next job

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge says Jurgen Klopp deserves credit for culling the “deadwood” at Anfield, unlike Marco Silva at Everton.

In Aldridge’s Liverpool Echo column, the 60-year-old former striker says that Klopp has built some strong foundations at Anfield and secured the majority of those players to long-term contracts.

He does however believe that there may be three or four players that are shipped out in the summer as Klopp looks to refine his squad.

Aldridge accepts that the challenge then will be to replace those squad players with better players, before making a quip about the Reds’ rivals Everton

“The new contracts for Liverpool duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are fully deserved,” said Aldridge.

“We have had a lot of deadwood over the years, but now there’s clarity in the squad.

“There are a number of players on long-term deals, and there are youngsters also coming through.

“Jurgen Klopp might look to move on three or four in the summer, but otherwise the job has been made a lot easier for the manager because of the work he and the club have put in over recent years.

You can go through the team and there are players with a lengthy commitment at Anfield. Alisson Becker, Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Xherdan Shaqiri and the three lads up front.

“Compare that to Everton, who are going through successive managers and have a lot of deadwood.

“Liverpool have had that in the past. But Klopp has done a fantastic job in trimming the squad. The task now is replacing the ones who will leave with players who are better.”