Jorg Schmadtke admits he ‘misjudged too expensive’ Liverpool summer signing – ‘better than expected’
Former Liverpool director Jorg Schmadtke has admitted that he thought the Premier League giants overspent to land one of their summer signings.
Schmadtke joined Liverpool ahead of the 2023 summer transfer window before he departed the club earlier this year.
The 59-year-old had an important job during last summer’s window as he was tasked with rebuilding Liverpool‘s midfield following the exits of Naby Keita, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The Reds ended up investing around £200m in the summer to bring in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominic Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.
It did not all go to plan for Liverpool as they missed out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who joined Chelsea for over £150m combined.
But Liverpool’s signings have hit the ground running at Anfield and in an added boost, the club did not have their pants pulled down with transfer fees.
Szoboszlai was Liverpool’s most expensive summer addition as the Premier League giants paid £60m to activate the release clause in his RB Leipzig contract.
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The 23-year-old Hungary international has been sensational for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season but Scmadtke has admitted he was sceptical about signing him.
“You have to make mistakes in order to get better. I could certainly have saved myself some public statements,” Schmadtke said during an interview with Die Zeit.
“[Some transfers cost] eight figures. Now in Liverpool, there was someone who cost €70m, Dominik Szoboszlai, who we brought from Leipzig.
“Then I said: ‘It’s too expensive’. From today’s perspective, that was a misjudgment on my part. The boy was an important Liverpool player from day one. He performed better than I would have expected him to.”
Schmadtke has also lauded Liverpool boss Klopp, who has an “amazing” ability to “recharge” his players.
“I didn’t observe [Klopp walking on water], but he has special abilities,” Schmadtke added.
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“When he enters a room with four tired people sitting at the table, he recharges them. After a few minutes, they are fit again and full of energy. It’s quite amazing.
“He is an exception when it comes to signing new players. If a transfer is not possible, then he accepts it – and falls in love with another player. I really appreciated that, there aren’t many coaches who can do that.
“This gift made our collaboration easier. Unlike the clubs in Germany, in Liverpool I was responsible for the transfers, but I mainly worked with Jurgen. I stopped everyone from knocking on his door. I no longer wanted to be part of the change process that began with the new coach.”
