Jurgen Klopp has described Timo Werner and Kai Havertz as 'great' players, despite looking set to miss out on signing the talented duo this summer.
RB Leipzig star Werner had been heavily linked with a move to Anfield but it now appears that Chelsea are the favourites to sign him after reportedly agreeing to pay his release clause – something Liverpool were unwilling to do.
Meanwhile, Havertz – another rising star in the Bundesliga – has also attracted Liverpool's attention but reports in Germany now claim that Bayern Munich will be his next destination.
While the German boss heaped praise on his compatriots, his words came with a plea of patience from Liverpool fans, amid certain uncertainties the coronavirus pandemic has brought to football.
'There are a lot of good players on this planet,' Klopp told Sky Germany. 'Timo Werner is a great player, Kai Havertz is a great player.
'There are all sorts of rumours in England about who Manchester United are going to pick, Chelsea are going to pick.
'It's rather quiet here (at Liverpool) at the moment, I think it's safe to say. If you want to take it seriously and run a normal business and depend on income and have no idea how much you will earn... especially because we don't know when we can start playing with spectators again.
'At the moment, all clubs are losing money. Without spectators, we have to pay back the season tickets and probably sell none next year. At least maybe without the first 10 or 15 games. The VIP areas won't be packed and the tickets won't be sold. This will have an impact on other partners and things will look a bit different.
'Discussing with the players about things like salary waivers and on the other hand buying a player for £50-60m, we have to explain.'
While Chelsea look like favourite to land Werner, his release clause is yet to be triggered, according to RB Leipzig managing director Oliver Mintzlaff.
He acknowledged that Werner is 'in the driver's seat' in regards to a potential move away, but insists there's still a lot to be done before a move is finalised.
When asked about a Chelsea making a move, Mintzlaff told Sky Germany: 'No, we haven't had an exchange with Chelsea yet. So we have nothing to report.
'Timo Werner is a player of RB Leipzig. He has signaled a few weeks ago that he is working on a transfer. But so far, there's no closed deal yet.
'If Timo Werner would change, then we are sure that we can find a solution with the new club, that he can play the Bundesliga season with us to the end, whenever that is. With the Champions League, we can't discuss it until we know when the Champions League will take place. That won't be decided until mid-June.'
Source: m.allfootballapp.com