Jurgen Klopp Jokes About Having Scouts in Southampton Ahead of St Mary's Visit

Jürgen Klopp has light-heartedly claimed that Liverpool should set up their scouting department in Southampton after admitting his admiration for how the Saints

Jürgen Klopp has light-heartedly claimed that Liverpool should set up their scouting department in Southampton after admitting his admiration for how the Saints develop young players.

The former Borussia Dortmund manager will travel to St Mary's Stadium on Sunday to take on Mauricio Pellegrino's relegation-threatened side and ahead of the game, Klopp jokingly added fuel to the fire surrounding Liverpool's relationship with Southampton when it comes to transfers.

"There have been a lot of good players from that area [Southampton]," Klopp said, as quoted by a Liverpool Echo journalist, James Pearce. "Maybe we should have our scouting department down there."

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Most football fans like to play up the relationship between both clubs, with a number of players swapping the south coast for Merseyside over the last few years.

A report from the Liverpool Echo back in 2012 claimed that the Reds had invested almost £100m during the Premier League era in players coming from Southampton - a figure that has almost doubled since the arrival of Virgil van Dijk.

Klopp: "There have been a lot of good players from that area (Southampton). Maybe we should have our scouting department down there."

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) February 9, 2018

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The likes of Sadio Mané, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne have all made the move to Anfield in recent years, whilst Peter Crouch and Paul Jones swapped Southampton for Liverpool over a decade ago.

Both sides meet each other for the second time this season on Sunday, with Liverpool looking to secure another win over the Saints to bolster their attempts at finishing in the top four come May.