Klavan ready to fight for starting spot after completing ´dream´ Liverpool move

Liverpool recruit Ragnar Klavan said he is ready to fight for a starting spot under his new manager Jurgen Klopp. 

Klavan became Klopp’s fourth capture of the off-season on Wednesday, before the Premier League outfit added two more signings in Alex Manninger and Georginio Wijnaldum.

The central defender joins from Bundesliga side Augsburg and is ready to fight for a starting spot against fellow recruit Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho. 

“I’m settling in nicely,” Klavan told the Liverpool Echo. “The squad and the whole club are so friendly. It’s a family club and I’m happy to be here.

“Everything has happened pretty fast. It was a couple of weeks ago when I first spoke with Klopp.

“We had a good talk and then things started moving. It was an easy decision for me.

“This is a big club so wherever you go at this level you are going to face a fight to secure a place in the team. But I’m ready for that.

“In fact that competition helps everyone because you have to give your best in training every day.”

He added: “For 22 years it’s been my dream to play in England. I know it’s going to be tough but I’ve taken it on because I really want this challenge.”

Klavan, an Estonia international, has come up against Matip and new goalkeeper Loris Karius in the past, while he was team-mates with Manninger last season.

“Both Loris and Joel were one of their best in their positions in Germany last season,” the 30-year-old said. “I am really happy to see them here because they have a lot of quality and they’re good guys.

“As for Alex, everybody knows he’s 39 and the kind of role he will have at the club. He’s a true professional. Last season when he was second choice at Augsburg he was still the most professional player in the squad.

“He would always be the first one in for training and the last one to leave. That was over the entire season.

“It’s nice to have him on the training field and also in the locker room. He’s a great example to the young lads.”