"Very angry" - Jurgen Klopp was furious when Liverpool didn't sign player he "loved"

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he was disappointed that he did not sign winger Dusan Tadic when he was at Southampton.

There was a time where transfers between the two clubs were relatively common.

Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk all made the move from the Saints to Anfield between 2014 and 2019. Meanwhile, Danny Ings went the other way in the latter of those years.

Generally speaking, players who originally played for Southampton have achieved great success with the Reds. Lallana was a crucial figure for Liverpool in the early days of Klopp's premiership, having joined the club under Brendan Rodgers.

Mane and Van Dijk, meanwhile, have established their legacy as two of Liverpool's greatest players of the modern era - and perhaps of all-time.

Lovren had a difficult start to life at Anfield, making a number of defensive errors in his first season, but did bounce back to become more of a consistent performer for the club by the time he departed for Zenit St Petersburg in 2020.

The Reds could have completed another signing from Southampton during Klopp's reign - but they didn't get the deal done.

Jurgen Klopp's disappointment at Dusan Tadic failure

Tadic moved to the Premier League in 2014, joining the Saints from FC Twente. He was one of manager Ronald Koeman's first signings at the club.

The Serbian went on to score 21 goals in four seasons for Southampton, as well as providing 28 assists.

He then moved to Ajax in 2018, where his numbers have been extraordinary. In his first season, Tadic smashed in 28 goals and tallied 13 assists in the Eredivisie, with his overall goals/assists both passing double figures in every completed campaign since.

But things could have been different for him had Liverpool managed to capture his signature.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's Champions League clash against Tadic's Ajax on Wednesday, Klopp stated (quotes via HITC): "I was very angry with myself when he went to Ajax. Because I was also interested in him. I love him as a player."

Klopp and his Reds side will have to be red alert to keep out Tadic and his team-mates, knowing that a point at the Johan Cruyff ArenA will be enough to see them through to the knockout stages of the competition.