Jurgen Klopp has reiterated to Liverpool fans that the club is more than happy to spend huge money on whatever players he feels deserve it.
We’ve so far spent around £45m on Mo Salah and Andrew Robertson, with a further fee set to be paid for Dominic Solanke, whose cost will be decided by a tribunal due to his age.
This figure though is not even a quarter of what Manchester City have spent and way below rivals Manchester United and Everton.
The wait has been because of the difficulty we’ve had in persuading Red Bull Leipzig to sell Naby Keita and Southampton to offload skipper Virgil van Dijk.
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But both players are kicking up a fuss at their current clubs and Liverpool’s manager has reminded supporters we’re waiting in the wings to pounce.
‘We are not afraid of big numbers at the club, we are not afraid to spend,’ Klopp told Goal.
‘But we have to do the right things, look at the right players and negotiate with the right clubs.
‘There’s two possibilities to strengthen the squad: one is to get better players, the other is to get players with similar quality to what you have.
‘It’s difficult to get better players, because the ones we have are already really good. If you get the same quality, then the age group that they’re in means that very big steps are possible for everyone – the new players and the ones already at the club.
‘That’s what then gives the push in the performance, that’s what we’re looking for.’
If we fail on van Dijk and Keita, we still need to strengthen with alternatives – especially with a European campaign of some description upcoming.
It would be brilliant if some marquee names were ready for our Champions League qualifier, but with that game scheduled for three weeks’ time, it’s looking less and less likely that will be the case.