Liverpool should be prioritising a move for Timo Werner in the next transfer window, says Steve Nicol, with the RB Leipzig striker considered to be a more logical target than Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Reds are mulling over their recruitment options ahead of the next transfer window.
Various options are said to figure prominently on Jurgen Klopp’s wish list, with the Premier League title hopefuls having money to spend on the back of recent successes.
The general consensus is that Liverpool should be looking to add greater depth to their pool of attacking talent.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have become talismanic figures, but there is little support beyond them when it comes to end product in the final third.
That has sparked talk of a big-money raid being launched that will bring Germany international Werner to England.
It has also been suggested that Klopp will look to further bolster his defensive line by snapping up commanding Senegalese Koulibaly.
Big money would be required to land both reported targets and it may be that ambition has to be reined in.
If that is the case, then Nicol feels the Reds should be favouring a move for firepower.
The former Liverpool defender told ESPN FC: "Listen, if I had a wish list then I would wish to have Koulibaly alongside Van Dijk.
"But if you're saying I can only have one choice, I'm going to go with Timo Werner.
"I think the front three need a lot more rotation than the backline.
"The way Liverpool play, the way that front three presses when they play together, eventually it's going to catch up with them.
"They've been unbelievable for the last 18 months but you cannot keep that up for six, seven years. You need a break.
"I think defensively [Joe] Gomez has done enough to make Klopp be comfortable. He's not Koulibaly but I'll tell you what, he's not far off it.
"So if it's a choice between the two, I'm going to edge it towards Timo Werner."
Werner has left the door open for Liverpool to make a formal approach, but the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic have cast fresh doubt over deals that appeared to be in the pipeline.
The Reds are not the only side considering a move for the RB Leipzig star either, with Barcelona also in the market for another No.9 to provide competition and assistance for Luis Suarez.