Jurgen Klopp admits that he expected Dejan Lovren’s new Liverpool contract to generate a mixed response from fans.
Lovren put pen to paper on a new four-year deal on Friday which secures his future with the Reds until summer 2021, with the option of a further 12 months.
The Croatia international has endured a mixed three-year spell at Anfield, with his goal scoring heroics offset by defensive errors like last weekend’s defeat to Crystal Palace.
But Klopp believes the decision to award Lovren a deal worth close to £100,000 per week will be vindicated despite polarising opinion among Liverpool’s fan base.
He said: “In a situation like this, I know how football supporters think.
“If you had asked them after the Dortmund game they would have said, ‘Give him a 20-year contract.’
“When you see the Crystal Palace game they think, ‘Can we find another team who could have him?’ The truth is in between. In a situation like this, you have to look outside.
“If Dejan played for another club you’d think about signing him and then you think what you’d have to pay for him and it would be a big amount of money.
“I don’t know a lot about it but I heard he had a difficult start at Liverpool but he has really settled so that’s really good. He is physically strong, quick and a good footballer.
“Sometimes decision making could be better but no-one out there, and we watch a lot, is perfect.
“We really think he can help us a lot and we can help him in these few decisive parts of his game and that is what we want to do. I am so happy about the news.”