It’s been highlighted as a potential area of concern for Liverpool after their sluggish start to the Premier League season.
And as a field of journalists fired Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp with questions at the AXA Training Centre it was a topic that reared its head once again.
Nevertheless, the German tactician doesn’t seem to be too worried about the squad’s age compared to their Premier League rivals and discussed the “problem” openly.
With Fabio Carvalho likely to be added to the squad this summer, Liverpool are well on the way to lowering the average age of what was an ageing squad:
Kelleher
Trent
Tsimikas
Konate
Gomez
Jones
Elliott
Diaz
Carvalho
JotaAll 25 or under and first team ready #LFC pic.twitter.com/HIovrHm02m
— Kevin Palmer (@RealKevinPalmer) February 2, 2022
“In the moment when we consider 30-year-old, 29, 30-year-old people as old then something is really a problem – for all in the room pretty much, by the way, a massive problem! But I understand it 100 per cent.”
Klopp discussed how the team could line up with a “really” young midfield and he has the players at his disposal to do so.
“We have the young boys. We could line up a really young midfield, a really young midfield, and that could work. They are already here. Let me say we start Stefan on six – believe it or not, he could play that now – and Harvey and Fabio turns 20 today. The average would be 18 I think, or 18-and-a-half, of these three players.”
Klopp also highlighted the need for “experience” in the squad as it adds a different element to the team’s mentality and hunger.
“So we have three very young midfielders and then we have in the best football age – 25, 26 – and then we have players around 30; they bring in experience, they have the determination, they are the characters in this team, all these kind of things, very important – you cannot buy this.”
The boss suggested that the club will keep an eye on the ageing talents in the team, however, it’s not a cause for concern at this moment in time.
“They developed it over years and now in the moment in their prime we say, ‘Now you’re getting too old. You are not too old but you’re getting too old’? Yes, we will have an eye on that, definitely, no worries about that. But I understand all these kind of things.”
Klopp highlighted again how Liverpool’s extensive injury list hasn’t helped the squad in any way, shape, or form.
“You expect or you know that injuries will happen but that they came all together in this moment – because we always had injuries, it’s normal, all football teams have that – but this came together.”
Liverpool put their naysayers to shame this past weekend in a 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
Nevertheless, tonight’s test against Newcastle promises to pose the real question to the Red’s “ageing” squad.