Jamie Carragher thinks that the fact that Liverpool chose to sign Mohamed Salah over Julian Brandt in 2017 shows that managers shouldn’t always get what they want. Jürgen Klopp first wаnted to sign a fellow countryman, but in the end, he bought Salah for $45 million (£35 million or €41 million).

The Reds manager wаnted to bring the winger from Bayer Leverkusen to the Premier League at first, but Liverpool chose the Egyptian player instead. Liverpool offered $32 million (£25 million or €29 million) for Brandt, but he turned them down.

Even though he had some problems at Chelsea, Salah has been great at Liverpool. He has won many awards and broken many records. The 31-year-old has won the Premier League and the Champions League.

During an episode of Stick to Football, Carragher talked about who should have a sаy in signing players. Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Jill Scott, and Gary Neville all joined him. They argued about whether employment teams and data-driven trade deals should be used or whether the market business should be run by those on the bench.

Carragher said on the Stick to Football show, “When he first came in, Mohamed Salah was an interesting one, and Jürgen Klopp is honest about this.” He was after Julian Brandt instead of him.

“People behind the scenes at Liverpool were still there when Salah went to Roma, and they were adamant that they had to sign this player. Liverpool had tried to sign Salah before he went to Chelsea.” Though Mohamed Salah has done great things, things could have gone badly.

“I agree that managers shouldn’t have to buy every player, but a manager also shouldn’t be forced to buy a player.” I don’t think a manager should be able to do whatever he wants. If you look at Manchester United, it’s scary; Erik Ten Hag seems to have bought every player he knows.

Brandt is making waves in Germany right now with Borussia Dortmund, Klopp’s old team. With 215 games for Leverkusen before going to Dortmund, where he’s played nearly 200, the 27-year-old has proven his worth.

Brandt thought that moving to Anfield “wasn’t right.” “I had that chance to take that next step and join Liverpool, but it wasn’t the right time for me,” he told The Athletic in 2023. “At the time, I knew they were also interested in Mo Salah.” I wish I could have played for Kloppo.

Liverpool.com sаys that very few people will ever know how close Liverpool was to getting Brandt instead of Salah or how hard Klopp pushed for his player. But it’s safe to sаy that the right choice was made in the end.

To be fair to Brandt, his record since then shows that he probably could have done well at Liverpool. But it’s hard to think that he would have become one of the best players in the world like Salah has. This was a sliding doors moment, and it shows how important it is for people from different areas to work together when hiring people.