Liverpool legend claims club must make emergency dip into January transfer market despite £450m summer spending spree

Liverpool's Premier League title defence hasn't gone according to plan, with the Reds 10 points off league leaders Arsenal ahead of Saturday's visit from basement side Wolves. The defending champions head into the game against the out-of-sorts Midlands outfit on a three-game winning run, having followed up a Champions League victory at Inter with back-to-back league victories over Brighton and Tottenham.

Three points against Wolves will see Liverpool leapfrog Chelsea and Manchester United into fourth spot as they look to rescue what has been an underwhelming campaign, although the Blues can stay ahead of the Reds if they beat Aston Villa later on Saturday. And Carragher believes that dipping into the market is the best way for the club to enjoy a much-improved second half of the season.

Carragher pointed to City's decision to splash the cash at the turn of 2025 as reasoning behind the Reds' need to invest further next month. The Cityzens, like Liverpool, were out of the title race by the New Year, and used January as the perfect time to strengthen as they added Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Nico Gonzalez to the squad and ultimately finished the season third.

And Carragher is firmly of the opinion that Liverpool need to add bodies to key areas in the New Year. Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher put, "Pep Guardiola reacted to his club’s troubles by spending a combined £180m on Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush, and Nico Gonzalez. City improved, preserved their Champions League status and are back fighting for every honour a year on."

The Reds hero believes Liverpool need to add a centre-back and a forward next month or else they will struggle to finish in the top four. Slot's side did seek to add a new centre-back over the summer and agreed terms with Crystal Palace for Marc Guehi. However, the Eagles pulled the plug at the 11th hour on deadline day in September as they failed to bring in a replacement for their captain.

Liverpool are expected to return for Guehi next month, though they'll face competition for the England international. Indeed, a number of Europe's heavyweights, including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, have been linked with a move for Guehi, who is out of contract at the end of the season and free to agree a pre-contract with overseas sides.

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Additionally, Liverpool were credited with an interest in Antoine Semenyo, who has a £65m ($88m) release clause in his contract, which he penned back in the summer. The Reds were previously the frontrunners for Semenyo, but faced stiff competition from Manchester City, United, Chelsea and Tottenham for the Bournemouth star.

However, City are now leading the race for Semenyo and he's expected to move to Etihad Stadium when the transfer window re-opens next week. Combined with Alexander Isak's ankle fracture sustained in the 2-1 win at Tottenham last week, Liverpool will need to bring in a new forward if they are to continue competing on multiple fronts.

"Liverpool will not have planned to reinforce in this window when they were signing all those cheques last summer," Carragher continued. "Now the impact of Alexander Isak’s broken leg, allied to the shortage of centre-back cover for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, means that the circumstances have changed. Slot’s squad were already imbalanced and lacking depth before Isak’s setback."

Liverpool will feel confident about moving into the top four when they face Wolves this afternoon. The Reds are now unbeaten in five, winning three, in the league following their 2-1 win at Tottenham last week.

And they welcome lowly Wolves to Anfield on Saturday. Rob Edwards' side are languishing at the foot of the table, 16 points off safety with just two points to their name. They are yet to win a league match this season.