Jürgen: Why I'm often talking with Emre Can
Jürgen Klopp believes there is much more to come from Emre Can as the Liverpool midfielder develops the skills that have allowed him to impress from the centre in recent weeks.
The German international has featured in nine of the 11 matches since his compatriot was appointed Reds manager two months ago, though he is not available for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle United.
A yellow card received during the midweek Capital One Cup thrashing of Southampton means a suspension for Can and a decision for Klopp at St. James’ Park.
The boss is sure Liverpool will cope with the No.23’s absence this weekend, though he has high hopes for how much progress lies ahead of a player signed last summer.
Klopp said at his pre-match press conference: “Emre is like the whole team, he’s in a good way. The big difference between him and some other players is he’s very young.
“He’s 21; very often he doesn’t look like 21 in his game, sometimes he looks like 18. That’s the truth and he knows it.
“We are very often in talks about this. He has a problem – he speaks the same language as me! That means I can talk more with him.
“Emre is a really good player and I like working together with him. But he’s not available for the next game. Of course, it should not be the biggest problem for us, we have other quality players that didn’t play on Wednesday. They are recovered. We will have a good formation.
“Emre, like every young player with obviously big talent, has to learn.”
Can arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen with a reputation for versatility and showed exactly why as he featured in midfield and defence throughout his debut season.
Klopp echoed popular consensus that his natural position is in the middle of the park but equally insisted there are no qualms about deploying him elsewhere in the team if necessary.
He said: “From what I’ve heard and read, Brendan [Rodgers] thought his best position was midfield. That’s clear, he is a midfield player.
“But with his size and speed and strength in one-on-one situations, of course he can play as a centre-half if you don’t have another one in good shape.
“We have had a problem in this moment that we have two centre-halves available. The next option would have been Emre. We don’t have him in this moment so we only have two.
“But he can play there. For a young player, it’s more important to play than to play in the right position. It’s only a discussion if you want to discuss it.
“It’s absolutely no problem to play in different positions. In the German national team he sometimes plays full-back; for sure it’s not his best position but he can play it.
“If there are problems in a position, you have to play there and not think about if it’s your best position. That’s what he’s doing. I’ve never had a discussion with him about his position.
“In the last few weeks, it was very good for us that he could play in midfield and improve his game, and that’s what he did. Everything is OK.”