Jamie Carragher urges Liverpool to focus on quality over quantity this summer

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Jurgen Klopp should place his emphasis on recruiting top-class players rather than hoping to add squad depth.

The Reds managed to clinch their Champions League return after they held on tough competition from Arsenal to finish fourth in the league standings. Despite this, the Merseyside outfit looked short during the backend of last season with Klopp being forced to name a substitutes’ bench with an average age of 19 during the defeat to Crystal Palace.

With next season’s fixture list likely to be more congested due to European commitments, Carragher feels Klopp should look to bring in players, who could get straight into the starting lineup when required. The Reds recently confirmed the signing of Mohamed Salah from AS Roma on a £34m fee while they have also secured a Bosman move for Chelsea’s Dominic Solanke – subject to a tribunal.

Carragher told Liverpool’s official website: "The actual team, the XI, could go up against anyone – we saw that in the big games with some great results in those games. But over the season, especially around Christmas and January, it was evident that the squad wasn’t big enough or strong enough.

But rather than just adding players to the squad, you want to add players to the team. If you add three or four players and they go straight into the first XI, three or four of those who were playing week in, week out last season go to the bench.”

Klopp struggled to find a suitable combination at the heart of the Reds midfield last season, and he is seemingly on the hunt for new recruits with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita on his radar. Meanwhile, the Merseyside outfit are still on the hunt for a new centre-back with the manager keen on signing Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, who could cost a club-record £70m fee.