Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has finally accepted the club could be in the market for a midfielder, after former captain Jamie Carragher made a similar claim.
The Reds have been left light in the middle of the park, with Thiago and Curtis Jones among those to miss games through injury this season. Naby Keita has also suffered a setback which kept him out of Monday night's defeat at Manchester United, with Klopp's squad down to the bare bones.
Sky Sports pundit Carragher spoke up about his former club's need for a "quality" midfield addition after watching goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford leave Liverpool winless after their third league game of the season. Klopp had seemingly resisted such calls, showing faith in his current squad, but the situation has changed.
"Liverpool need a midfield player, not in terms of the number of the squad or to beef it up, they need someone to go and play and Liverpool feel that is not available right now," Carragher said after the Reds lost at Old Trafford. "I would stick with what Liverpool do where they don’t panic, don’t do things because they’ve got to go get someone.
"Jurgen Klopp isn’t daft, Thiago, Fabinho, Henderson, they’ve got a good midfield but they’re all over 30 and that’s not ideal for any team. Especially when you want to play as intense as Liverpool do."
Henderson and 36-year-old James Milner both started on Monday night, along with younger option Harvey Elliott. However, with less than a week of the transfer window remaining, Klopp finally accepted reinforcements might be required.
Who would be the ideal midfielder for Liverpool? Have your say in the comments section
"I know we have had this discussion since it all started and I am the one who said we don’t need a midfielder and you were all right and I was wrong. That’s the situation," Klopp admitted before the Reds' Premier League game against Bournemouth.
“But the specific point doesn’t change – we will do something but it has to be the right one.” England midfielder Jude Bellingham is among those to be linked with an Anfield switch, though a move for the Borussia Dortmund man has seemed more likely to happen next summer than this.
Liverpool have made three signings this summer, adding Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay to their ranks. However, amid a number of injury concerns, a senior central midfielder could arrive before deadline day.
Paris Saint-Germain man Leandro Paredes is among the names to have been linked with an Anfield switch after progress stalled on a move to Juventus. The Reds have also received positive reports on Wolves ' Ruben Neves and RB Leipzig's Konrad Laimer, according to 90min.
