Dusan Tadic has been Ajax’s star player for the past few seasons (Photo: Getty)
Jurgen Klop has expressed regret at failing to sign Ajax star Dusan Tadic for Liverpool when he had the chance.
Tadic is likely to play against Klopp’s side on Wednesday night when Ajax host the Reds in the Champions League.
But it could have been very different had the attacking midfielder moved to Anfield and not Amsterdam, something that could well have happened had Klopp acted on his intentions.
After four great seasons in the Premier League with Southampton, Tadic moved to Ajax in the summer of 2018 for £12.3million, and has enjoyed the best years of his career in the Netherlands.
So far, he has scored a staggering 94 goals and made 98 assists in 209 games for the club, aiding them to three league titles and playing a key role in their unprecedented run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s game, Klopp revealed his annoyance at failing to sign the now 33-year-old, telling RTL: ‘I love him [Tadic] as a player.
‘I was very angry with myself when he went to Ajax, because I was also interested in him.’
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side became notorious for signing Southampton players (Photo: Getty)
Tadic’s departure from Southampton was always seen as a little odd given how good he was for the Saints, and further still the choice to go to Ajax was also considered strange.
Yet in an interview from 2019, the Serbian international admitted he was done with the Premier League following Southampton’s decline in form, and he wanted to move to a less physical league.
He said: ‘I had a lot of offers. There were a lot of teams who offered money, a lot of teams from the Premier League and offers from other countries like Italy.
‘My heart is close to Holland. I like Holland and Ajax was always my dream club. ‘In Holland, and in other countries, you are protected [by referees]. If they touch you a little bit, it’s a foul.
‘We [Southampton] were getting worse and worse. We sold a lot of players and, after that, it was difficult. When you are there when it was the best, and after when it’s not so good, you feel a little bit like you need to go.’
Ironically, many of the Saints’ top players in that time ended up at Liverpool, including Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne.
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‘I love him as a player.’
