'Jurgen Klopp sent private jet and compared me to Cesc Fabregas but Liverpool transfer failed'

Inter Milan star Piotr Zielinski got the VIP treatment by only for his transfer to fall through.

Liverpool from Udinese in the summer of 2016 when he was a rising star in Italy. The Poland international had impressed during a two-year loan spell at Empoli and was attracting attention from across Europe.

Klopp was in the first summer transfer window as Liverpool manager and identified Zielinski as the kind of player he wanted to build his midfield around. The club whisked him to Merseyside to give him the sales pitch, but couldn’t get the deal over the line.

“Jurgen Klopp invited me to his house,” Zielinski told FootTruck. “Liverpool sent a private jet to pick me up. I was shocked because it was the first time I travelled on that means of transport. When we landed, we took the bus to go to Klopp’s. It was a building, he had everything there.

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“The conversation was great. Klopp told me that I am a mix between [Cesc] Fabregas and [Ilkay] Gundogan in his opinion. I didn’t understand anything, but my agent spoke German and told me everything. When we were leaving, I managed to take a picture with Klopp.”

Zielinski was later photographed holding up and wearing a Liverpool No.10 shirt with his name on the back. It caused a minor stir, but Zielinski insists it wasn’t the reason why his move to Liverpool collapsed.

“They offered €18.5million, but Udinese wanted something more,” he said. “Nevertheless, Liverpool couldn’t exceed a certain limit for me, as I wasn’t a top player yet. The other side of the coin is that I also didn’t feel like that.

“I don’t think [the picture in Liverpool’s shirt] had any effect. It wasn’t a big scandal, but [journalist] Bartosz Ignacik could’ve avoided all that. I was young, stupid and unaware and that’s the way it ended up. But it didn't have any effect.”

Liverpool ended up signing Gini Wijnaldum that summer from for around £25m – and that transfer worked out well for the club. The Netherlands international stayed for five years, helping Klopp’s side win the and .

Zielinski ended up moving to Napoli in the summer of 2016 and also has no regrets, given his success there. The 30-year-old spent eight years in Naples, winning the Coppa Italia and Serie A, making 364 appearances with 51 goals and 46 assists.

While Klopp compared him to Fabregas and Gundogan, Zielinski’s former Napoli coach : “He is an absolute talent, he also has great physical skills and if he grows in the level of personality, he can play in any area of the court, the new [Kevin] De Bruyne."

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