Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has termed “good” yesterday’s move by the Confederation of African Football Executive Committee to ratify a proposal to shift the African Cup of Nations from January to June/July.
The German gaffer is relieved the Premier League giants will no longer worry about losing the two African players within their ranks to the AFCON in the middle of the season every two years.
The move by the CAF’s supreme decision making body will take effect immediately starting with the next AFCON edition in Cameroon.
“When we signed Salah, I thought “oh my god, we will lose the two then.” Now we won’t and so it’s good,” Klopp told Melissa Reddy, Liverpool Correspondent for Goal.
Egyptian Mohamed Salah signed for the Reds for 35 million Euros from Roma adding to two the number of African players at the club after Senegalese danger-man Sadio Mane.
Liverpool flew Mane back in a private jet immediately he missed a crucial penalty which saw the Lions of Teranga lose to eventual 2017 AFCON winners Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
During his four-week absence, Liverpool only managed a win in eight outings and were knocked out of the EFL Cup.
Players’ intermediaries have confessed finding it hard to secure deals for the African players in Europe with clubs fearing losing them in January during AFCON, most have also hailed the move to shift the tournament to summer.
Those who oppose the move cites extremely hot temperatures in some parts of the continent during summer, they also criticise copy pasting ideas from Europe.
