Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson has warned that the club still need to bring in 'four or five' more players before they can think about competing at the top end of the Premier League this season.
The 72-year-old, who won seven league titles and three European Cups at Anfield, has concerns about the defensive depth available to new manager Andoni Iraola, with the first game of the campaign against Newcastle United just five days away.
Defensive concerns after departures
French international Ibrahima Konate and veteran full-back Andy Robertson both left Anfield on the expiry of their contracts in June. Jeremy Jacquet has since arrived from Rennes in a £60m deal, while Barcelona captain Roland Araujo has joined on loan for the season to strengthen centre-back options.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, in partnership with BOYLE Sports, Thompson said: "Defensively we do need more. It is a particular area if Jacquet isn't fully ready, who is going to be there? It's a difficult one. We still need recruitment."
He added: "I think we probably need four, maybe five players in total in different positions. Defensively, certainly, a midfield player, a wide player; you need two quality players for every position. There's work to be done."
Big-money moves expected
Despite Thompson's call for urgency, Liverpool are continuing their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola. Owners Fenway Sports Group sold a minority stake in the club for around £1.4billion last week, and the former skipper can see huge deals coming down the tracks.
"The finance side of it, we could spend that money because we've done very, very well in sales," he said. "And when you look at it, just the investment in which we get into the football club, the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, when you see them travelling the world, it shows that they are the two biggest football clubs."
"People want to invest in them, so you have that, and I think it contributes towards a better buying power even with the restrictions that you have."
New era under Iraola
Regardless of who arrives before the transfer window ends, the team is embarking on a new era under Andoni Iraola. Thompson is confident the Spaniard can bring the change needed to get fans back onside but warned the former Bournemouth boss that the challenge will be different compared to the Cherries.
"Change can be good, change can be bad. You change because things have been going wrong - it's not like Jurgen Klopp leaving on a high," said Thompson. "Things have gone wrong, so you need a new manager, new ideas, you need the players to tap into him as quickly as possible. Arne Slot came in and surprised us all by winning the league. The players invested in that from Jurgen Klopp. Hopefully this time there is a difference."
"We've got to get the intensity back; we've got to get the fans back on board, in which everything has been lost, and that's what he did at Bournemouth. [But] Bournemouth is not Liverpool. The big thing about it is that Bournemouth, a lot of the time, were almost the underdogs in games and played a lot of counter-attacking football."
"With Liverpool, one of the biggest problems is breaking down packed defences. This is where he's got to find that ingredient with someone like Florian Wirtz, where do you get the best out of him, and to have Alexander Isak firing, that can do them a lot of good."
