Liverpool are unlikely to land Kai Havertz or Thiago Alcantara in the next transfer window, says Jason McAteer, with the Premier League champions not expected to break their transfer mould by investing “huge fees” in fresh faces.
Jurgen Klopp is being linked with a number of top talents heading towards the next window.
Recent recruitment at Anfield has been on the money, with considerable value found in piecing together a title-winning squad.
Only minor tweaks are now required to record-breaking ranks, with there likely to be little movement through the exits over the coming months.
With that in mind, McAteer cannot see the Reds splashing the cash on creative midfielders currently starring in the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
The former Liverpool star told the Racing Post: “Takumi Minamino has come in but it looks as if Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana are going to leave so others are going to have to step up.
“But who? That's the problem. No agent will need any encouragement to link their players to an Anfield move - I'm sure Timo Werner's people were making a lot of the running when there was talk of him joining the club - but are they going to play regularly?
“Talk of Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz arriving at the club therefore seems unlikely. Liverpool broke records to sign Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, but the rest of the team were not necessarily signed for huge fees.
“They haven't gone about their business that way and I don't see it happening.
“And it is going to be a big year with the Euros at the end of the season, so top players are going to want to play regularly, something that Klopp is not able to provide for everyone.
“There has been a lot of talk about Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara joining but defensive midfield is an area of strength with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, so a move for him might not be the way forward.
“One main area they have to look at is left-back. Andy Robertson has been outstanding but they have had to rely on James Milner playing there when Robbo hasn't been available.
“That's obviously not Milner's preferred position and Sadio Mane always looks more comfortable when he is playing in front of Robertson.
“But they don't need much more and I think it is about getting the right people into the club who are going to fit in with the culture.”
It remains to be seen whether Klopp will be freed to spend again on the back of ending a 30-year wait for top-flight glory on Merseyside, with Liverpool also being heavily linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and Napoli centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly.