BT Sport pundit and ex-Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman has stated that Jurgen Klopp must spend in the summer if the German is to maintain his former side’s dominance.
Liverpool wrapped up their first Premier League title-winning season on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United, which marked their 32nd victory of a campaign the Reds drew just three times and lost on three occasions.
No side in the top-flight allowed fewer points to go elsewhere than Liverpool, who also boasted the division’s best defensive record with just 33 goals shipped and second-best offence with only Manchester City scoring more often.
Maintaining that level of dominance next season and striving for a title defence will not be easy for Klopp and his men, and McManaman would urge the Reds to hit the summer market adding strength in depth or risk falling back into the chasing pack.
But trying to add men behind the eleven who so comfortably hold down their places under Klopp will not be an easy task for the German tactician, especially in positions where support is the most lacking, making the summer a clearly fraught situation for the uneasy McManaman.
“It’s hard for the starting eleven to get better,” McManaman told BT Sport during Sunday’s win at Newcastle United, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. “It’s difficult when you are the World Champions and won everything to get better when it comes to your starting eleven.
Where does Klopp need to spend the most?
Goalkeeper
Defence
Midfield
Attack
“But I certainly think the squad can improve. The squad can be deeper and better. They need to find more quality coming off the bench.
“A squad like Manchester City’s has more depth to it than Liverpool’s. That’s where he [Klopp] has to look. I think they need a left-back as cover for Andy Robertson.
“It’s going to be hard to displace the starting eleven, though. But then it will be hard signing players who know they might not start. It’s a tricky one and a hard balancing act.”
Only Virgil van Dijk (38) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (35) started more Premier League games than Robertson (34) this season, and Klopp finding a new left-back who can offer support and competition to the Scotland international will be no easy task.
While players will be keen to join the side who have won the Premier League title, their chances of playing minutes will also be prevalent in their thinking and Robertson’s place will be one of the least under threat for Klopp.
Roberston almost set a Premier League record this season for assists in a single campaign by a defender having created 12 goals, which only Alexander-Arnold’s bag of 13 this term could better.
The Scotland full-back’s output makes finding a suitable back-up a key task for Klopp, however, as losing Robertson for any lengthy period of time will take away one of his offensive weapons and leave the Reds weaker on the left-hand side all the while he is on the bench or in the medical room.