Liverpool fans have been more excited about Jurgen Klopp’s arrival at Anfield than a group of pre-teen girls at the possibility of Justin Bieber singing at their middle school dance. While their optimism is justified, it’s gone entirely too far. The most laughable piece of “news” related to the recent optimism/delusion comes in the form of this week’s article in the Mirror suggesting that Klopp’s presence as Liverpool manager might be enough to lure Robert Lewandowski to Anfield from Bayern Munich. (If you missed it, see article here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-transfers-klopp-lewandowski-reunion-6611066)
Lewandowski is the most in-form striker in the world at the moment. He’s fired in 15 goals in his last six games and strikes fear in the heart of any back line in the world. Every club would kill to have him lead their line. It’s also true that the Polish striker credits Klopp for a great deal of his success. After all, he did sign Lewandowski for Dortmund from Lech Poznan in 2010 and per Sportsmail he credits the charismatic manager for a significant portion of his success.
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Naturally, the English national media has played connect the dots in an effort to link the player with his former manager. While Liverpool is still a big club (despite Jame Carragher’s recent opinion), they aren’t one of the world’s largest. As such, they don’t have the stature required to bring in a player like Lewandowski. If the striker truly is unsettled at Bayern Munich, which is entirely possible, he will have his choice of any club in the world. Liverpool fans and media members should not be so naive as to think he’d value his relationship with Klopp over the chance to compete for Real Madrid, Barcelona or another European giant. Just as Luis Suarez spurned comfort at Liverpool to play for Real Madrid, Lewandowski would do the same.
Jurgen Klopp will undeniably be able to use his connections and charisma to bring talented players to Liverpool. His stature in the world of football will allow the club to punch above their weight on the transfer market. Unfortunately for the Reds, Lewandowski isn’t just above their weight class, he’s boxing in a different arena altogether. It would make zero sense for the exquisite striker to leave a club where he is guaranteed Champions League qualification and virtually certain of a league title for a smaller club that may not qualify for Champions League and has almost no shot of winning the title.
The media reports linking Lewandowski and Liverpool are all too predictable. The headlines can sell newspapers throughout Europe and make for great TV content. Sadly, the reports are likely to increase before they are ultimately snuffed out when Lewandowski makes a firm commitment to another club. Until that day, even Lewandowski’s agent is motivated to stoke these rumors to drive up the wage offers of other potential suitors.
So sit back and get ready for more ludicrous Lewandowski to Liverpool stories to flood your timelines and televisions. Just remember that Liverpool isn’t a club that competes with the world’s top 1 percent any longer. As a result, Robert Lewandowski will follow the familiar path of opting for one of today’s global superpower clubs instead of one of the world’s most historic.