Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested his side will be targeting the transfer of an attacking midfielder to replace Philippe Coutinho this summer.
The Reds lost the Brazil international to Barcelona in the middle of the season and have not been able to bring anyone in yet, though Naby Keita has a deal in place to move to Anfield in the summer, according to BBC Sport.
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Although Liverpool have largely coped very well without Coutinho so far, there’s no doubt he’s a world class playmaker whose contribution to the team in recent years cannot be downplayed.
Klopp seems to recognise the need to strengthen in that area of the pitch as well due to the injury problems with Adam Lallana this season, who could have been an ideal replacement from within the Liverpool squad to play more often after Coutinho’s departure.
The Daily Mirror report that Klopp has hinted he’ll look to strengthen in attacking midfield and list the likes of Monaco winger Thomas Lemar and Borussia Dortmund starlet Christian Pulisic as possible candidates to come in.
‘We already have Naby Keita coming and that is really good and we will probably sign a couple more players, because that’s how it is,’ Klopp is quoted in the Mirror.
‘We have to strengthen, first of all, the squad. To bring in players who are 200 per cent better than the players we already have will be quite difficult, but we still need to do a few things to have more depth in the squad. That is very important.
‘We had a weak problem in the winter. Phil (Coutinho) left and Adam Lallana was not here then, which would have been a perfect replacement but he was not involved.’