Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher argued in the wake of Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Manchester United, which left them five points behind champions Manchester City and without a win this season, that the Reds require midfield reinforcements.

"Jurgen Klopp is not daft," the former Liverpool defender said. "He knows that when he looks at his first-choice midfield of Thiago, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, it's a really good midfield, but they are all over 30. That is not ideal for any team, certainly when you want to play as intense as Liverpool do.

"They do have lots of numbers there. Milner can come in there, and there's Keita and Curtis Jones, but if you are talking about real top quality, Liverpool need a midfield player. If he was available now, Liverpool would buy him, but they've obviously got something maybe lined up for next summer.

"That's what Liverpool have notoriously done. They did it with Virgil van Dijk. They did it with him when they couldn't get him and they didn't go and buy another centre back. So, Klopp will be thinking that is the plan, that is how we go about things. It has proved successful and we'll do the same again.

"However, there is no doubt Liverpool need more in midfield. The midfield is the one glaring part of that team that really stands out and that can't go up against Man City when you see the quality they have."