Liverpool appear to have a "spending problem" as Premier League rivals line up big-money deals, says Markus Babbel, with the former Reds defender claiming that Jurgen Klopp is not "100 per cent sure there is a player" for him in the attacking department.
Ibrahima Konate has already been added to the ranks at Anfield, with a £36 million ($50m) deal done for the French defender, but there has been no more movement on Merseyside.
There has been plenty of speculation, as domestic foes prepare to splash the cash, but Babbel is not convinced that Klopp will be investing heavily in any supposed targets during the current window.
What has been said?
Former Reds full-back Babbel has, speaking in association with NetBet, told Goal: "For me, the problem is that Liverpool looks like the only English club who have a pandemic spending problem.
"Chelsea wants to spend £150 million ($208m) for Haaland, Manchester City want to spend a lot of money on players, but Liverpool is the only club looking at the money situation.
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"If a player is available and it isn't crazy money, then they will do something. I'm not sure if Jurgen Klopp is 100% sure there is a player for Liverpool, but there is a situation up front where these players need to fight for their place.
"The problem last season was that everyone knew they were playing, whether they played well or not.
"Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all need pressure putting on them. Diogo Jota brought something different, and he ended up being the best striker and was unlucky to get injured.
"He was the best forward by far, but when you look at Liverpool, they had a lot of injuries in every position which didn't help. Once they all come back, I'm sure they will fight for the title next season."
Will Liverpool land a striker?
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There have been calls for Liverpool to freshen up their front three, with Salah, Mane and Firmino having provided inspiration in the final third for several seasons.
Babbel believes a Brazilian No.9 allowed his standards to dip in 2020-21, in what was a nine-goal campaign for him, but feels there is still enough quality there for the Reds to get back in the hunt for major silverware.
The German added: "Firmino is a hard-working player, and he isn't scoring too many goals, but Salah and normally Mane will score those goals.
"Firmino is working for them as well, Mo Salah cannot score 20, 30 goals unless someone is working for him, which Firmino is doing. He is a different type of striker and he's done a fantastic job allowing Salah and Mane the space to score goals.
"It's similar to Emile Heskey when he was playing with Michael Owen, Emile wasn't scoring many goals, but Michael was because Emile was so hard working.
"The problem is when Firmino is not working hard enough and that happened too many times last season.
"They won the Champions League and the Premier League for the first time, so mentally you can switch off a little. I think this year they have a massive chance to come back and win the title, they'll have a freshness about themselves going into the season."
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