Jurgen Klopp claims Liverpool pipped a host of admirers to the signature of Estonia captain Ragnar Klavan.
The 30-year centre-back completed a reported £4.2million move from Augsburg to Anfield on Wednesday and Klopp confirmed a man who first caught his eye during his time in charge of Borussia Dortmund was a prime target when he began planning for the upcoming campaign.
"At the end of last season I knew that if we decided to take somebody in this position he was the one I wanted," Klopp told the club's official website. "Now I'm really happy with the options we have got at centre-back.
"I've seen up close for three seasons how good his performances in Germany have been and last season we got chance to see him against us - and a lot in preparation - for our [Europa League] games against Augsburg.
"The last time he played against us at Dortmund they had 10 men and he defended really well to help them get a clean sheet and a win.
"He has had chances to move to some very big clubs but showed loyalty to Augsburg and now we've beaten some big teams for him to come here."
"He [Klopp] knew me when I played in the Bundesliga from when he was still there and when I heard about this chance to have multiple good things together, to represent Liverpool and work with Jurgen Klopp, I didn't doubt in my mind that something really, really good would come out of it," he said.
