While Liverpool have opted to stick rather than twist when it comes to their midfield personnel this winter, the same, you'd expect, won't be said during the next transfer window.
The summer widow of 2023 is expected to be a significant one at Anfield, in particular in midfield with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
With Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara hitting the wrong side of 30 in recent years and Fabinho's lengthy battle for form a major cause of concern, Liverpool will need to bring in at least two midfielders at the end of the season if they have genuine aspirations of returning to the summit of English football and contesting Manchester City for the biggest honours once more.
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Of course, Liverpool have grand plans to add England and Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham to the Anfield ranks later this year, but the challenge of out-flexing Real Madrid and all they stand for will be anything but straightforward. The club's failed pursuit of Aurelien Tchouameni proves just that.
But even if Bellingham is to choose Merseyside as his next destination, his arrival alone would not be sufficient to solve the Reds' current woes in midfield. As Klopp hinted at earlier this month, Liverpool are struggling to counter-press with the same intensity as they did in years gone by when they were crowned champions of England, Europe and the World.
However, a solution to such issues could lie closer to home than the Reds boss believes, with the Guardian once again linking Chelsea and England midfielder Mason Mount with a move to Anfield this summer.
The 24-year-old, who is a product of Chelsea's Cobham academy, has less than 18 months remaining on his current deal at Stamford Bridge and is yet to agree on fresh terms in West London. Such a public impasse has led to Anfield officials reportedly plotting a summer move for the midfielder.
While Mount will be the first to admit he has struggled for consistency over the course of the last 12 months or so as Chelsea's off-field problems have mainly overshadowed the efforts of managers Thomas Tuchel and now Graham Potter, the midfielder would be the perfect addition to the Anfield ranks. And not just for his on-field talent.
For the initial Premier League squad registration at the start of the 2022/23 season, the Reds enlisted just 23 players; including 16 who were non-home-grown. The remaining places in the quota were filled by players who qualified as homegrown. Liverpool could only name seven despite clubs being allowed to name eight.
Fast forward to January and the signing of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven is a rather influential one because it means Liverpool cannot register any more non-home-grown players, over the age of 21, this season without removing a previously registered member of the squad. And even though the club are unlikely to make any further acquisitions this month, their squad quota is in urgent need of a tidy-up during the summer months.
The futures of Nat Phillips and Caoimhin Kelleher, who could both explore moves away from Anfield later this year in the search for regular first-team opportunities, has the potential to leave Liverpool with just four home grown players on their books next season - if they are to join Oxlade-Chamberlain and Milner in moving on to pastures new (with Curtis Jones too old for the under-21s list). The knock-on effect of such is that the club would therefore only be able to register a maximum of 21 players in their Premier League squad (17NG + four HG players).
Arthur Melo's departure at the end of his nightmare season on Merseyside, coupled with that of Keita - who is increasingly likely to join the Brazilian out of the Anfield exit once his deal expires at the end of June - means that Liverpool will be handed a further two spaces in their non-home grown list.
However, a failure to make use of the home grown allocation would ultimately leave Klopp with less senior options at his disposal compared to those of his rivals, and it was only last month the Liverpool manager admitted with an ever-increasing fixture he would need more players on his books.
“I think with Cody [Gakpo] it’s obvious, and not only because we have that void now: the quality he has, the timing is perfect," said Klopp, when asked about Liverpool's transfer plans after the victory over Leicester City in December. “If we would have waited until the summer it would have been definitely even more expensive, or somebody else would have picked him.
“So there’s a lot of potential, it makes absolute sense. And with the games we will have in the next years, the games will not get less. We will have more games and all these kinds of things.
“It’s clear that you need real quality in all positions, and probably two teams on the same level, if you want, so that you can rotate and these kinds of things. That’s what we try to prepare, obviously."
Adding a player like Mount to their roster would not only enhance the quality of options at hand but also go a long way to futureproofing Liverpool's home grown classes. He would, like Bellingham (from 2025/26 onwards), class as a home grown player and therefore allow Liverpool to utilise their spare non-home grown slots for further additions in midfield or elsewhere across the squad.
While players academy graduates Leighton Clarkson and Sepp van den Berg will also count as home grown players from the 2023/24 season onwards due to their long-existing ties with Liverpool, there are clear reservations as to whether they are the quality of players needed to help the Reds be successful in their hunt for a 20th league title.
Normally, the desire for home grown players either sees managers target veteran third-choice goalkeepers like Liverpool previously did with Andy Lonergan and Chelsea also did with former England goalkeeper Robert Green. However, a desperation to fill the quota and therefore have more options within the Premier League squad has led to major inflation in the price of home grown Premier League talents; see costly deals for players like Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish and as Liverpool fans will know all too well, Andy Carroll.
But if Chelsea and Mount are unable to resolve their current contractual differences by the time the summer comes around, the Londoners' hands will very much be forced as they face a decision whether to recoup a fee for the England international or allow him to depart Stamford Bridge at the end of the 2023/24 season on a Bosman.
Judging by Chelsea's recent behaviour in the transfer window, it seems that choosing to receive a fee for the 24-year-old - even if it is minimal - could be the best way to start balancing the books in West London.
Having made enjoyed a breakthrough season under Frank Lampard in the 2019/20 season, Mount has since gone on to become one of Chelsea's best performers in the years since under Tuchel and Potter. He was also a key figure in the club's 2021 Champions League success as he scored goals against FC Porto and Real Madrid and provided an assist for Kai Havertz's strike in the final against Manchester City.
Speaking in September 2019, the Liverpool boss delivered a glowing assessment of Mount, insisting the midfielder was worth in the excess of £60m.
“Tammy Abraham is now a £60 million player," said Klopp. "Mason Mount for sure if not more. [Callum] Hudson-Odoi was before that already.”
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