After coming tantalisingly close to an unprecedented quadruple last term, Liverpool have splashed the cash this summer in a bid to evolve their squad.
The Reds were fast out of the traps to snare Fulham starlet Fabio Carvalho before fending off interest from some of Europe's biggest hitters to strike an £85million deal for Benfica hotshot Darwin Nunez. Jurgen Klopp's side are also on the cusp of bringing Aberdeen's promising young right-back Calvin Ramsey to Anfield for an initial £4m to conclude a busy couple of weeks.
But Mirror Football understands that the deal for Ramsey will bring an end to Liverpool's summer business. The Reds were in the market for another midfielder, and even tabled a substantial bid for Monaco star Aurelien Tchouameni; however, the midfield maestro opted to seal a dream switch to Real Madrid rather than joining the team they bested in last month's Champions League final.
Liverpool have earmarked Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham as the ideal player to lead the Reds engine room for the future. But with the English prodigy currently seen as unattainable, Liverpool are planning to bide their time when it comes to the 18-year-old - even though that strategy could leave the Reds short on midfield in the short-term.
That's exactly what occurred last season too. Just 12 months on from the unprecedented injury crisis in defence that proved terminal to the Reds hopes of defending their Premier League title back in the 2020/21 campaign, Klopp found himself with a dearth of midfield options. And if injuries pile up again, then Liverpool could be caught short again their bid to wrestle the domestic crown away from Manchester City.
With Nunez arriving at Anfield and Erling Haaland joining City, the two titans of the Premier League look primed to lock horns for the biggest prizes in Europe again next year; although Liverpool's powers will be substantially weakened by the impending departure of Sadio Mane. Nunez's arrival will obviously soften that blow - but there are no guarantees that the Uruguayan striker will adapt to the top-flight as seamlessly as January recruit Luis Diaz.
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Reds icon Steven Gerrard warned last month that the Reds are too heavily reliant on their attacking options and that they needed a goal-scoring midfielder capable of easing the burden on their coveted attacking contingent.
And with Liverpool set to undergo their biggest changes in years in the attack, Gerrard's transfer warning carries extra weight. But the Reds have still decided to put their search for an elite midfielder on the back-burner for 12 months. That'ss a bold strategy - and one that has the scope come back to haunt the Reds and Klopp net season.
Speaking after last month's Champions League final defeat, Gerrard said: "Jordan Henderson and James Milner are not getting any younger. They’re still top players at this level, of course, and they’ll want to go on and do more. But for Liverpool, if you think about the next five, six, seven years, they’re going to need a midfielder, an eight, who can get goals, who can get double figures.
"They are heavily reliant on the front three — or the front five if you include Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino. You always need one of those midfielders that’s going to get in the box and get you goals."
