I didn’t know Solanke before signing him —Klopp

Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has confessed that he did not know Dominic Solanke before he agreed to sign him this summer.

The 19-year-old of Nigerian decent, who enjoyed great success at youth level for Chelsea, grew frustrated for lack of first team opportunities and demanded for a move to Anfield which he got at the end of the day.

He announced himself to the Reds fans with a brilliant long range strike in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace during the Asia Premier League Cup and Klopp is happy that he listened to his scouts to sign the England U-20 World Cup ,winner.

“The only thing I can say is the first time I heard that Dominic wants to come, I was really happy about that,” Klopp said.

“But it was difficult to find footage about him. It was a long time since he played so it was hard.

“The only thing we could get was a little bit of him playing in Holland (on loan for Vitesse Arnhem) and a bit of under-20s or under-19s. That’s not the best footage.

“Everyone in England knew him but I had no idea about him. I started to learn more and more and I trust the guys around us, the scouts, so I said: ‘Let’s do it.’

“I’ve seen a lot of skilled boys in my life and he looks like a nice project.

“Everything is really good, really clear. He’s extremely football smart and focused. You see the movement.

“He has to improve in a lot of ways but he’s a good boy.”

Solanke will be involved for Liverpool against Leicester City in tomorrow’s Asia Trophy final by 1:30pm, UK time.