A surprise signing for Liverpool in the summer, Ragnar Klavan has played probably as much football as expected, considering Dejan Lovren and Jordi Matip appear to be Jürgen Klopp’s starting centre-back pair.
The 31-year-old defender, who signed from FC Augsburg for £4.25m in the summer, is currently on international duty with his country, Estonia, for whom he has already made 115 appearances.
Speaking to the local press, Klavan spoke to Soccernet.ee about his first few months at Liverpool, and discussed his playing time, or lack of.
With Dejan Lovren injured for the 6-1 win against Watford, Klavan thought he might get a shot, but Klopp preferred to use Lucas Leiva, a defensive midfielder, there instead.
He said: “If you don’t play, it’s the coach’s decision. It appeared to be a good choice, the club won 6-1 and are now league leaders. For me, it doesn’t mean anything, and I’m not going to analyse it.
“I have the advantage that I’m old enough to understand the situation. Certainly it’s different and takes getting used to. Every once in a while, on game day, you expect to play, and if you don’t, there’s a reason for this.”
An undisputed starter at Augsburg during his time in Germany, the player concedes there’s a difference in level and expectations between his former club and Liverpool, which should be taken into account.
Since the start of the season, Klavan has made 6 appearances for Liverpool, including two in the EFL Cup, scoring a goal in a 3-0 win over Derby to help them go through to the cup’s fourth round.
