Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has not ruled out making further signings before the end of the transfer window to add to the imminent arrival of Thiago Alcantara.
And the signing of the Spain international, who is having his medical on Merseyside ahead of completing a four-year contract for an initial fee of £20million, does not mean players will have to be offloaded.
Georginio Wijnaldum has been heavily linked with Barcelona and there was a school of thought that there would have to be a departure before there could be an arrival.
.@LFC manager Jurgen Klopp on @Thiago6's impending move to Anfield. "It looks....quite promising!" pic.twitter.com/HfrT1nwfmT — Carl Markham (@carlmarkham) September 18, 2020
Klopp has dismissed that, however, and insisted there had not been a change in transfer policy and that could yet lead to more arrivals with Watford's Ismaila Sarr in the club's sights.
"No, It's just about timing. Sometimes you buy before you sell, sometimes you sell before you buy. Sometimes different scenarios," he said.
"Sometimes you don't buy now but you buy later and sometimes you earn the money back in different ways.
"The only thing which is always true with us is what we earned on football, we spend on football. That is the short summary of the philosophy of the club. One of the key points.
"We cannot just say 'This year we need this and that, and we cannot afford it' – and I wouldn't insist on it.
"But this season we worked constantly on improvement. The window itself leaves the window open.
"I cannot promise we will do something and I wouldn't but I cannot say it is 100 per cent sure we don't do anything.
"It's the situation, it is developing a situation so anything could happen. If a player comes to me and asks me 'Boss I want to go' – I don't expect that but it can happen – then we have to react."
On Friday morning Thiago bid an emotional farewell to Bayern Munich ahead of his move to Anfield but even then Klopp was reticent to speak about his new signing until it had been completed.
"It looks... quite promising. My hands are tied pretty much," he added.
"I'd prefer to speak about it after. Most of the things I will say if it happens are obvious. It's nothing what someone has to discover about the player.
"If it happens it has no impact on anyone's future in a negative way. Someone has to leave because someone comes in? No. I can say that. No impact."
In a video on Twitter Thiago said: "I have made the most difficult decision of my sports career.
Für immer dankbar, @fcbayern ! Bayern wird immer ein Stück Heimat für mich sein. #MiaSanMia ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aFlWADLvFQ — Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) September 18, 2020
"I will close this chapter on this wonderful club where I have grown as a player for seven years. Triumphs, joy and also hard times.
"But what I am most proud of is that I arrived in Munich as a young man filled with dreams and now I will leave completely fulfilled with a club, a history and a culture.
"My decision is purely of a sporting nature. As a soccer player I want new challenges to develop myself further."
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