Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola: Comparing their best signings at Liverpool and Manchester City as title race nears epic conclusion

The Premier League title race is almost over and it promises to be dramatic as both Liverpool and Manchester City vie for the prestigious crown.

Neither side is relenting in their quest for top spot.

Separating the two rivals is proving almost impossible, as City attempt to defend their title from Liverpool, a team that last celebrated being the best in England 29 years ago.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola will be desperate to lift the Premier League trophy

As it stands, Liverpool are top and clear by two points.

However, they have played a game more. So if City were able to beat bitter rivals Manchester United next Wednesday, they would be one point clear.

With Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax leading the way in the Champions League, the policy of spending big to win big seems a touch outdated.

And in the Premier League, City and Liverpool are two of the biggest. So how have the respective mangers spent their money since taking charge?

Here’s how the top of the Premier League table looks currently

Here at talkSPORT.com, we wanted to examine how both managers have used the considerable transfer funds at their disposal to propel their sides into the reckoning for the top prize in the English game.

With Klopp taking over in 2015 and Guardiola arriving just a year later, the time frame for comparison is almost identical.

JURGEN KLOPP STATS

The German is not afraid to splash the cash...

Date joined: 7/10/15

Players signed: 13

Total amount spent on transfers: Â£398,475,000

Average transfer fee per player: Â£30,651,923

*stats courtesy of transfermarkt.co.uk

To describe Brendan Rodgers’ transfer policy at Liverpool as erratic would be fair and his sacking saw the Fenway Sports Group search overseas for his successor.

Klopp’s self-imposed sabbatical from Borussia Dortmund was soon over and the German was tasked with getting the Reds back to the pinnacle of world football.

With a second successive Champions League Final almost delivered and a first ever Premier League title within his grasp, it’s fair to say the 51-year-old has succeeded.

TRANSFER MISSES

Ragnar Klavan has struggled at Liverpool

Since his first transfer window in January 2016, Klopp has altered his transfer policy somewhat. At Dortmund, he brought through a team of academy graduates and bargain buys to Bundelisga glory. Signing Robert Lewandowski for just â‚¬4.5million was a particularly shrewd move.

His attempt to be as frugal on Merseyside was not a complete success, to put it politely, as the likes of Ragnar Klavan, Marko Grujic and Loris Karius proved to all be poor signings.

While it is perhaps too early to judge him, Naby Keita has not had the impact many had hoped, nor that his early form promised.

TRANSFER HITS

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are two of the most in-form players in world football

In all honesty, the German has worked wonders with his business dealings since taking over at Anfield.

By changing from his bargain hunting style to an all-out charm offensive, Klopp has welcomed some of the biggest names to the red half of Merseyside.

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Fabinho have all proved invaluable to Liverpool’s title challenge and Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker are arguably the best in the world in their respective positions.

PEP GUARDIOLA STATS

The Spaniard has inspired a revolution with City's riches...

Date joined: 30/6/16

Players signed: 22

Total amount spent on transfers: Â£539,721,000

Average transfer fee per player: Â£24,532,773

*stats courtesy of transfermarkt.com

After performing football miracles at Bayern Munich and Barcelona, the Manchester City board finally convinced Pep Guardiola to try his hand in the Premier League.

An indifferent debut season saw the Spaniard show his ruthless side as he completely revamped City’s defence by cutting out the likes of Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart – all firm fan favourites.

However, his methods clearly deliver results and last season’s record-breaking Premier League title success is proof of that. But the lack of Champions League success will irk the former Barca captain.

TRANSFER MISSES

Claudio Bravo was wildly inconsistent in between the sticks

Guardiola has spent big during his time at the Etihad, but you cannot fault his efficiency.

After deciding the aforementioned Hart was not technically gifted enough, he immediately shipped the England intentional out tin place of Claudio Bravo. However, the arrival from La Liga proved to be a flop and Guardiola was forced to delve into the transfer market 12 months later.

Another player from that first window who could not cut it was Nolito, a player who promised a lot but delivered little. And the jury is out on RiyadÂ Mahrez still – a player lacking consistency and the pedigree in big games.

TRANSFER HITS

Signing Sane, Jesus and Silva have proved to be fantastic pieces of business

Like Klopp, when Guardiola gets it right in the transfer window, he gets it very right.

Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus can form the spine of this City team for years and the mix of decorated players from across the continent yet to hit their prime like Ilkay Gundogan and Benjamin Mendy also makes for a great squad.

The Spaniard has also spent well when bargain hunting. Oleksandr Zinchenko has developed into a Premier League standard defender while Jack Harrison (on loan at Leeds United) could well become a regular in years to come.

CONCLUSION

Jurgen Klopp’s revolution at Liverpool may have cost a pretty penny, but the German takes the biscuit in this contest.

While Guardiola has added to an already star-studded City team, his title adversary has literally taken a side struggling to qualify from the Europa League to the brink of a European and domestic double.

Should Klopp win the Premier League title this season, the signings he has brought in during the past 12 months alone will be crucial to a potentially historic season for the Reds.

Manchester United on red alert as Raphael Varane reportedly 'considers future' at Real Madrid The Red Devils are in the market for a world class central defender and they would pounce at the
Manchester United on red alert as Real Madrid centre-back

The Barcelona superstar has led the scoring charts both domestically and in Europe this season, but what is his record against Jurgen Klopp's side? Lionel Messi continues to break new boundaries

Jun 04, 2019 · Liverpool are considering upgrading their stadium expansion plans to take the capacity at Anfield beyond 60,000 as a September deadline looms on an existing planning application. The club has
Liverpool could expand Anfield capacity beyond 60,000 | Sport

Barcelona vs Liverpool: Dietmar Hamann suggests the Reds attack is better than Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes the Reds have better attacking players than Barcelona. The two teams meet in Wednesday's Champions League talkSPORT 1 week ago
Barcelona 3 Liverpool 0: Lionel Messi magic stuns Reds in

Mar 28, 2019 · Wolverhampton Wanderers are on the brink of signing loan star Raúl Jiménez in a club record £25m deal, in a huge boost for the FA Cup semi-finalists. Nuno Espirito Santo is close to officially
Nuno Espírito Santo - Wikipedia

15 1992, The Times, #64412, UK (en)_djvu.txt
Search the history of over 362 billion web pages on the Internet.
scorecover.com | Website SEO Review | Seobility.net

Arsenal transfer news: Gunners to make bid for Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser AFTER Europa League final Fraser has been heavily linked with a move to London but it is understood Arsenal will not act
Gunners to make bid for Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser AFTER

Transfer news and football gossip: Romelu Lukaku latest, Matthijs de Ligt told to join Man City, Liverpool star in fight for future Monday, 3 June 2019 ( 59 minutes ago ) talkSPORT.com rounds up all the latest transfer news and football gossip from Monday's papers and online…
Football gossip: Lukaku, Pochettino, Trippier, De Ligt

Jimmy Shan: West Brom confirm caretaker manager will remain

Gabriel Zakuani: Gillingham footballer's 11-year-old son found after going missing on Wednesday Surrey Police appealed for help finding Ajae Blackwood-Petrie, the son of defender Zakuani By
Gillingham footballer Gabriel Zakuani's son, 11, found after

funny side Warnock made the comments after a number of key refereeing decisions went against his side against Chelsea Manchester City vs Cardiff under-23s has been advertised in Manchester following Neil Warnock's comments at the weekend. The Bluebirds boss has threatened to play his under-23s against Pep Guardiola's side on Wednesday.
Manchester City news: Hilarious road sign advertises match
gistjunction.com/2019/04/01/manchester-city-news-hilarious-road-sign-advertises-match-against-cardiff-u23s-after-neil-warnocks-threat-to-play-youngsters/
Manchester City vs Cardiff under-23s has been advertised in Manchester following Neil Warnock's comments at the weekend. The Bluebirds boss has threatened to play his under-23s against Pep Guardiola's side on Wednesday. Warnock was incensed after refereeing decisions went against his side in their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Spinning Sports - Home | Facebook

Bolton players staged a similar strike last year. The BBC said Bolton are also due to appear in the High Court in London on Wednesday over an unpaid £1.2 million ($2.2 million) tax bill and other
Bolton Wanderers players to boycott games over unpaid wages

Unai Emery praised Aaron Ramsey following Arsenal's Europa League victory over Napoli and insists the Juventus-bound midfielder is only thinking about finishing the season well with the Gunners.
Unai Emery: 'Departing Aaron Ramsey only focused on Arsenal