Jurgen Klopp sends message to Arsenal chief Edu over Gabriel Martinelli transfer

  

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has praised Arsenal transfer chief Edu for discovering Gabriel Martinelli.

Klopp experienced the talent of the young Brazilian first-hand in midweek as the teenager scored twice in Liverpool's dramatic 5-5 draw with Arsenal at Anfield.

The Reds eventually progressed on penalties but the stock of Martinelli again rose as he continues to make a first team impact after initially being expected to slot into Arsenal's youth setup as one for the future.

Klopp is clearly an admirer of the 18-year-old, who cost just £6million in a move from Brazilian minnows Ituano, and told Edu he deserves plenty of credit for unearthing a player even Liverpool's extensive scouting network were unaware of.

Klopp told Brazilian TV show Esporte Interativo : "It was not in this game only. I watch a lot of football, so I saw the Europa League games of Arsenal.

"He’s 18 years old, right? So our scouting department is all over the world and stuff like this, but I think Edu gets all the credit for that signing – he came from… wherever.

"He’s really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player.

"But I didn’t want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing [his earlier remarks] but I just really like good football players and obviously he’s a very good one."

Klopp was also gushing in his praise of Martinelli immediately after last week's thriller, labelling him a "talent of the century".

Discussing the performance of his own young defender, Sepp van den Berg, he told Liverpool's website" “That’s really difficult to deal with these guys. Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult."