Jürgen Klopp reiterated his delight at Dejan Lovren’s new long-term Liverpool contract and predicted the centre-back will only improve over the course of the deal.

The No.6 put pen to paper on fresh terms with the Reds on Friday morning to prolong his already near-three-year Anfield stay.

And Klopp is confident Liverpool will reap the benefits of the decision as Lovren’s game enhances in the coming seasons.

He told reporters at Melwood: “I am really happy about this decision. In a situation like this, I know how football supporters think and if you would have asked them after the Dortmund game they would have said ‘Give him a 20-year contract!’ Then they see the Crystal Palace game and think ‘Can we find another team who would have him?’ Of course, the truth is in between.

“In a situation like this, you really have to look from the outside. If Dejan played for another club, you would think about signing him. Then you would have to think about what would you have to pay for him and it would be a lot - a big sum of money.

“Having him around and giving him a new contract and working with him together… he is 27 years old and his best time for a centre-half is still to come.

“I don’t know exactly about it but I heard about a difficult start at Liverpool, but he has really settled, so that’s really good, really good. He is physically strong, he is quick and he is a good footballer.

“Sometimes of course, decision making could be better. But that’s how it is and nobody out there – and we watch a lot [of players] all the time – is perfect.

“So we really think he can help us a lot and we can help him in a few decisive parts of his game. That’s what we want to do and that is really good, so I am happy about the news.”