‘Liverpool have injuries but shouldn’t harp on about it’ - Barnes warns against ‘knee-jerk’ January signings

Liverpool need to avoid rushing into “knee-jerk” signings during the January transfer window and not “harp on” about the injury issues that are impacting their plans, says John Barnes.

Jurgen Klopp has some big decisions to make on the recruitment front heading into 2021.

With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out for several months, reinforcements at centre-half may be required.

Barnes admits as much, but he is not convinced that the Reds need to spend for the sake of it.

The Anfield icon has told BonusCodeBets: “There are a lot of people saying that Liverpool must buy a new centre-back in January, but when you break it down, most players except for Virgil van Dijk will be back before then.

“There is no need for a knee-jerk reaction, Liverpool have always planned ahead of time, but depending on the situation in January, the transfer window may become significant in terms of Liverpool needing more players due to the current situation. 

“There is no need to harp on about it, we have to deal with it and not let the negativity creep into the dressing room because that is when it can affect our results.

“When Virgil van Dijk got injured, no one got carried away and we were still winning games and at the right end of the table.

“Liverpool can’t worry about things they have no control over, so until the January transfer window, Liverpool must work with what they have and have full faith in Jurgen and the set-up, regardless of whatever graduates are coming through.

“No one was complaining when we played Everton with nine graduates and were still competitive. We still have a league to compete in and that must be the primary focus.” 

Liverpool still have 11 games to take in across all competitions through to the end of the calendar year.

The first of those is set to see them play host to Premier League leaders Leicester on Sunday.

They also have meetings with the likes of Wolves and Tottenham to contend with domestically, and Champions League outings against Atalanta, Ajax and Midtjylland, before the January market opens for business.