Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has pleaded for patience over Christian Benteke, stating that Robert Lewandowski needed time before he found his shooting boots at Borussia Dortmund.
Klopp signed Lewandowski from Lech Ponan in 2010, with the Polish striker scoring nine goals in 43 games in his first season.
Lewandoswki went on to score 94 goals in 144 appearances in his final three seasons at Dortmund, earning a move to Bayern Munich as one of Europe’s leading marksman.
Benteke has endured an injury-hit spell at Liverpool since joining in the summer from Aston Villa for £32.5million, and the Belgian scored his fifth goal in 12 games in the 2-1 Europa League against Bordeaux in midweek.
Klopp has asked for patience with regards to the 24-year-old’s development, pointing to the progress of Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who also underwent similar struggles before adapting to life at the German club.
“I can tell you that I am not sure that Robert Lewandowski could have developed in the Robert Lewandowski of today in England because no one is patient enough to wait for this,” Klopp told the Liverpool Echo.
“He made eight league goals in his first year and I don’t know what you would write about him if he made eight goals in one year and played all the time: not good enough, come on, sell him.
“Aubameyang needed three years for this performance at the moment [he has scored 23 in 21 this season], so sometimes you have to work together. It is very important in football.”
Klopp feels Benteke’s performance against Bordeaux could be a turning point for the striker, as he continues his recovery from injury.
“Of course it was important,” said Klopp. “When I came here he was injured.
“I know a lot about Christian Benteke because when he was at Aston Villa, we were interested too, everyone was interested.
“A brilliant player but like everyone else, if you are injured and come back, everyone thinks now you have to be the Benteke that he has shown he can be straight away.
“Each person needs time for this so he can get better, better, better.
“Tonight he was good, very hard working, but he did not play too often in this formation so it was not so easy with Roberto [Firmino] to close the lines.
“It wasn’t perfect. We can have a complete new team [and think] ok, s*** we didn’t train together, but with time they can get better and better.”
On-loan Coventry City star Ryan Kent helped by Liverpool FC heroes Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler
Ryan Kent has already proved that he can run with the ball like Steve McManaman – and now he’s aiming to master the art of left-foot finishing exemplified by Robbie Fowler.
Kent revealed he has received specialist coaching from the two Anfield legends as Liverpool work on developing his massive potential.
And having netted just one goal in his 11 loan appearances at Coventry – a stunning right-foot swerver against Barnsley – he is particularly determined to improve his goals tally.
“I don’t mind playing anywhere along the front three,” he explained, “and I get more goals from the No.10 position. But at the moment I probably prefer playing out on the left, getting the ball, going at players one v one and cutting in on my right to shoot.
“Recently I’ve been playing more on the right but when I cut in my left-foot shooting hasn’t been as good as it has been in the past.
"I’m two-footed but I do prefer shooting with my right because I feel I’ve got more accuracy instead of lashing at it with my left and that’s definitely something I need to work on in training.
“I’ve got a lot of experience around me, especially here at Coventry, back at Liverpool and in the England camp as well. At Liverpool we had ex players coming in – Steve McManaman helped me with my dribbling and Robbie Fowler with my finishing.”
Kent was used as an impact player in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Bradford City, where his electrifying pace spearheaded a late push for the winner, and he accepts that he has to fight for his League One opportunities.
“Coming into a first-team environment I’ve come to terms with the fact that you’re not always going to get your own way,”he said.
“That’s a learning curve, something I’ll have to adjust to and improve – making the right decisions at the right times and picking my moments when to go one v one.
“You always want to play but I didn’t think i had my best game against Gillingham at the weekend. We’ve got a good squad and there are always players who can come in and perform well so there’s never a definite position in the team.
“I like to think I made an impact when I went on at Bradford – we needed to get that energy going forward again and I created a few chances.”
'He's faster than Gareth Bale!' - Alan and Andy on Ryan Kent
Sky Blues boss Tony Mowbray has based his tactics this year on the pace of Kent, Adam Armstrong and Jacob Murphy, explaining: “Every successful football team has speed and power in their ranks. It’s something we identified at the start of the season.
“There are time when we have to defend and we have worked hard on keeping shape behind the ball and aware that on the change of possession we can hit back with a real threat of speed going the other way.”
Speaking minutes after Tuesday’s match, Mowbray mused: “It’s an unbelievable sight watching him in full flow – have you ever seen a player travel so fast with the ball?”
And Kent is fully aware of his prime asset, explaining: “The game’s evolving and in the new generation of football you have to be so quick mentally and physically.
“All players seem to be quicker than they were in the past but you see quite a lot of players who are really quick but can’t carry the ball with them.
“I think that’s a good trait of mine to be able to travel with the ball at speed especially something I’m going to work on.”
Kent was never into sprinting (“I used to do athletics when I was younger but I never took it really seriously”) and he has no idea what about his 100m best.
But is it safe to assume the clock would read quick? “Yes,” he smiled, “I would say so...”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says there is no deal in place blocking the German from returning to Borussia Dortmund to sign players.
Klopp took over the Anfield reins from Brendan Rodgers in October and there were initial reports suggesting the Bundesliga side had inserted a clause into his Liverpool contract stopping him from raiding his old side for their best players.
That notion has been denied by the 48-year-old coach, who also stated the club cannot afford to spend huge money and they must be realistic in their transfer targets.
“I have no agreement with Borussia Dortmund,” Klopp told the Liverpool Echo.
“I heard about an agreement, but no. Yet in my opinion it only makes sense to go for players we think we can get.
“So if we want to battle down the road (Manchester City)… we can pay 100 (million), they can pay 120. It’s a crazy marketplace when you start doing this.
“There are so many mothers in the world that have brilliant sons, so you don’t always have to take the guys that everybody knows
“Maybe you take one. But I have a good relationship still with Borussia Dortmund and with all the players.
“There is nothing between us and if there was a possibility that we could get one of those players AND we needed him, then we could try it.
“But there is no agreement, of course not. And there is no agreement that we can’t sell players to Borussia Dortmund!”
The Sun on Sunday reports Dortmund stars Neven Subotic, Lukasz Piszczek and Sven Bender are targets for Klopp, while the Daily Star Sunday claims Klopp aim to sign winger Marco Reus and defender Mats Hummels from his former employers.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will axe ‘bungling Belgian Simon Mignolet’ and replace him with Stoke keeper Jack Butland, according to the Sun on Sunday.
Butland , 22, is also believed to be attracting interest from Everton, but Klopp has made the England man his No 1 keeper target, although the ‘exclusive’ says Liverpool will have to wait until the summer to sign him.
The red top also says Borussia Dortmund stars Neven Subotic, Lukasz Piszczek and Sven Bender are also targets for Klopp, who could return to his former club in the January sales.
Jurgen Klopp says Roberto Firmino is “not even close” to showing his full potential at Liverpool yet.
The 24-year-old Brazilian was outstanding in last weekend’s 4-1 demolition of Manchester City, but one the whole he has struggled to get to grips with the Premier League.
Klopp has labelled the £29million summer recruit from Hoffenheim a “big physical talent” and is convinced there is plenty more to come from the player, who scored 38 Bundesliga goals in 140 appearances.
“I did not know him as a person before I came here but I knew him and liked him as a player and he is still not 100 percent to where he can go – not even close yet,” said Klopp.
“We spoke at the beginning and you could tell from his face he is looking forward to working together. I know him very well so he doesn’t have to do something special (to convince me).
“He is a big physical talent, really strong, it is not easy to get the ball from him. He is the complete offensive player.
“He is fast in a special way and very, very good at shooting, something we have not seen here until now.
“So still there is a lot to come and it is a good situation for the club.”
Ahead of Sunday’s Anfield tussle with Swansea, Klopp was keen to shelve any talk of a Premier League title tilt.
“I have a little bit of experience with winning titles – not the biggest but a little,” added Klopp. “So I know what helps and what doesn’t – and what doesn’t help is to talk about things you have no influence on.
“We are eight points behind Leicester and six points off fourth place.
We’ve only played most teams once and we can only take three points from each game, so we just need to keep on working.
“We have to use our situation in good moments and to accept our situation in bad moments – and then to work. That’s all we can do.
“Let’s see where we are in May or June. I don’t even know when the season ends.”
