The "serious" injury that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered against Crystal Palace has opened the door for Jurgen Klopp to boost his midfield options.
The Liverpool star is set for an extended period on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring problem against Palace a fortnight ago. He will now miss at least the first few weeks of the season after Klopp confirmed it will "take longer" for the midfielder to recover.
“With Oxlade it will take longer. It’s a serious hamstring injury and it will take longer. But it’s a hamstring, and we all hate this word, we hate the injury but anyway it happens from time to time and now Ox was the one,” Klopp said ahead of Saturday's Community Shield clash with Manchester City.
As well as being awful news for Oxlade-Chamberlain, it does throw a wrecking ball to Klopp's summer transfer plans. The German has consistently insisted that their business is done and two weeks ago denied a new midfielder would be arriving at Anfield.
“I don’t think something will happen in midfield. You never know, if somebody comes to me and says ‘I want to go’… but nobody came to me yet. If that happens then we have to talk. But if the situation stays like it is, then tell me why [I should sign someone]? I do not understand," he said.
“We can go through it. Where do you want to start? So, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Thiago, James Milner, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – now you tell me what kind of player are we missing?
HAVE YOUR SAY! Do Liverpool need to buy a midfielder in the wake of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's injury? Comment below.
“We have three players in the squad who can easily play as a No.6 – Fabinho, of course, but also Hendo and Milly played it fine. Creativity? If we bring in a player just for that, we immediately make it more difficult for Harvey, Curtis and Fabio. They can all play different positions as well, of course: Curtis can play a line higher and Harvey and Fabio can play there, too.
“So where is the need for a midfielder? We should not forget that last season, in the first four games, Harvey was the best player. He was outstanding. I really don’t understand the discussion about the midfielders.”
Despite Klopp's insistence that there was no room for a new man in midfield, he will likely now have to go back into the market. Oxlade-Chamberlain's injury means that the Reds will be down a man for a substantial period of time.
That would fit Klopp's criteria for bringing in a fourth summer signing, though the identity of that man is not clear. Liverpool could of course look to bring in Jude Bellingham, who is Klopp's top target for next summer.
But such a deal would be difficult to facilitate given the fact that Borussia Dortmund have already made one big sale this summer in Erling Haaland's move to Manchester City. Whoever Liverpool decide to target, Klopp's own statements on the matter would open the door to a renewed push in the transfer market.
