Southgate: Klopp arrival a motivation for Liverpool’s Gomez and Ibe

Gareth Southgate has thrown down the gauntlet to Liverpool's Joe Gomez and Jordon Ibe to impress Jurgen Klopp.

The England Under 21 coach believes the duo must forget the disappointment of Brendan Rodgers’s sacking and focus on forcing their way into Klopp’s Anfield plan.

The pair could feature for Southgate’s side in their Euro 2017 qualifier with Kazakhstan in Coventry on Tuesday as England bid to maintain their winning start to Group Nine.

Klopp replaced the axed Rodgers at Liverpool last week and Southgate believes winger Ibe and defender Gomez must take their chances early.

“I guess they already know that they’ve got to impress a new manager,” he said. “They are both disappointed because somebody who has picked them and given them a chance has gone and I think it’s important that players remember that.

“Once they’ve done that they have to be ready to impress the new manager that comes in because that’s the life of a footballer.

“I have spoken to them both because we always spend a lot of time individually with players to find out how they are and how they’re doing at their club.

“They have been very focused on what we’re doing.”

But Southgate believes the duo are in good hands with Klopp, who nurtured Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund, and that a new manager at Anfield is good for their motivation ahead of England’s game at the Ricoh Arena.

“With player development it’s a long process but Germany in general is a model,” said Southgate, who has a fully fit squad.

“I’m sure he put players in at Dortmund that he believed in and thought had the ability and the boys have got to prove that when they go back.

“I think there’s enough motivation to want to impress at international level anyway but the club dynamic gives them something extra.

“If motivation is high for other reasons then that’s good for us as a team.”

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