Liverpool owners to reward Jurgen Klopp with extended contract

Club looks to nail down the German after two Cup final appearances in first half-season

Liverpool’s owners have approached manager Jurgen Klopp about extending his contract. Photograph: PA
Liverpool’s owners have approached manager Jurgen Klopp about extending his contract. Photograph: PA

Liverpool parent company Fenway Sports Group has declared its long-term faith in manager Jurgen Klopp by offering him a new, extended contract.

The German has only been in the post for nine months but it’s understood that principal owner John W Henry, Reds chairman Tom Werner and FSG president Mike Gordon have already been so impressed that they are prepared to tie him down for several more years.

Klopp’s current deal expires in 2018, although there is an option for an extra year, but FSG wants the 49-year-old to build a new dynasty at the club and is prepared to invest heavily in him as a person.

The relationship forged between Klopp and the owners is already a strong one and such is the mutual confidence and trust between the parties that a new deal would seem a mere formality.

READ SOME MORE

Klopp is already one of the highest-paid managers in world football because of his status and previous achievements so there is unlikely to be any issue over the financial side of the deal.

What it does do, however, is give the German a greater understanding of the esteem in which he is held and provides him with a platform on which he can begin planning for the long-term.

Klopp is the fourth manager in the almost six years of FSG’s reign at Anfield.

They quickly dispensed with the man they inherited, Roy Hodgson, installing former boss Kenny Dalglish, initially on a short-term basis.

The Scot was then handed a three-year deal and despite winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final the next season, was sacked because of disappointing Premier League results.

Brendan Rodgers’ appointment saw him almost win the league in his second season, which earned him a new four-year contract, but five months later he was sacked after a poor run of results.

The faith FSG is showing in Klopp, who guided the same squad Rodgers had to the Europa League final, far outweighs anything they have displayed in the past as they are confident he is the man to return the club to its former glories.