Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch believes his former club are lacking a key signing this season.
The Reds will be looking to become title contenders again this season having had to settle for a third-place finish last term, finishing 17 points behind champions Manchester City.
But while the likes of City, Manchester United and Chelsea have all strengthened significantly this summer, all spending more than £100million with 10 days still to go in the transfer window, Liverpool are largely going with what they had.
That is with the exception of £36million signing Ibrahima Konate, who will add key depth to Liverpool’s back line.
But according to Crouch, Liverpool are missing a marquee signing, missing out on the lift such an arrival brings.
”When a new signing walks through the door, when Lukaku. Sancho and Varane walk through the door (it lifts everyone),” he told BT Sport as cited by the Daily Mail. “If they (Liverpool) signed Lukaku, you’re talking about them being front runners for the title.
“They haven’t signed anyone, they’ve got Konate but they haven’t really gone out and got someone. This squad still has the quality to be title contenders.
“When someone walks through the door, when Shevchenko and Ballack walk through the door, when Torres walks through the door, it lifts training.
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“But with van Dijk, when the full-backs bomb forward when the strikers bomb forward, when they look back and see him there it’s a big lift to the whole team.”
Liverpool won their opening game comfortably, brushing aside newly promoted Norwich City 3-0, while in their second outing, they are 2-0 up against Burnley at time of writing, late in the second half.