Jürgen Klopp has some non-negotiables in ‘Liverpool 2.0’ amid Dominik Szoboszlai transfer plan

Jürgen Klopp has been eager to talk about his team’s fresh start over the past few months. The German coach has coined several terms as a means of spreading the word via the media, using phrases such as ‘Liverpool 2.0’ and ‘Liverpool reloaded’ in his press conferences before and after games.

The new dawn at Anfield has been initiated by an overhaul in the middle of the park, with five midfielders leaving the club over the course of the summer including captain Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner. Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keïta also followed them out of the door, with Roberto Firmino completing the list of notable departures.

Nevertheless, despite Klopp’s desire to stress that his team is starting from scratch once again, his assistant suggested otherwise in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Speaking ahead of facing Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup, Pep Lijnders suggested that certain elements will not change on Merseyside.

“What I like is that our style is still the same,” he said. “Our way [of] approaching the game is still the same: we want to chase, we want to get the ball, we want to go in the opposition half, we want our best players as much on the ball that they can risk. We want to be always connected enough to counter-press on the highest level.

“We want to be different than all other teams in the world in terms of when we lose the ball. All these things, five years ago are the same, seven years [ago] are the same, today is the same. These are the ideas of Jürgen, of the club, of me, of the staff, of everybody who feels. That is the most important.”

Lijnders was effectively touching on Liverpool’s specific principles of play. Klopp has an identity as a coach and since moving to English shores in 2015, he’s embedded his ways into the fabric of the club. The make-up of his team will change depending on the players on the pitch and the opposition, but his principles are untouchable.

In that sense, when the Reds boss talks about a fresh start and a new team, he is talking about the dynamics of the side from a structural perspective as opposed to starting again philosophically. Liverpool is using a different shape this season in comparison to previous campaigns, but all while representing the same brand of intense and aggressive football.