Joelinton to Liverpool alongside Alexis Mac Allister? Dietmar Hamann explains why Reds have to spend up to £250m in summer transfer window

Quizzed on where Liverpool need to be adding in the next transfer window, former Reds star Hamann – speaking in association with Casinos En Ligne – told GOAL: “The first thing you look at is a holding midfielder. If Fabinho can reach the heights again – or close to the heights – that he has been to, then that’s done. If they are not sure, then another holding midfielder would be my priority. It is the most important position – it gives you balance, it gives you security. And, they didn’t score enough goals from midfield in recent seasons.”

Pressed on who would be a good fit for the Reds, Hamann added: “Mac Allister is a wonderful player and I think he will be a great signing for Liverpool, but a player like Joelinton would be good. They lack a bit of physical presence, they are all very similar. You need a physical presence as well. The size of players is not everything but when you look at Newcastle, when they come out of the tunnel you think ‘Jesus, these guys are big and they can play as well’. Liverpool’s are all pretty slim, pretty small and similar – good on the ball, nifty players. They need a physical presence as well and a player of Joelinton’s stature I think would suit them very well – he can nick a goal, is physical, good on the ball. I would like to see a bit more difference between the midfielders.”

Liverpool’s inability to secure a top-four finish this season may come back to haunt them, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice – who have all been linked with the Reds – seemingly destined to head elsewhere.

Hamann said of missing out on the Champions League: “It certainly doesn’t help. You miss out on quite a bit of money, because you have guaranteed income if you go to the Champions League. And players want to play in the Champions League. I think Liverpool is still a big enough pull for people to say ‘I don’t mind playing Europa League football for one season because we’ll be back next year’, but other players might think ‘there is no guarantee we finish in the top four next season’ and you don’t want to go to a club for four years and only play in the Europa League for three seasons.”

Hamann added on how Klopp and Co can counter their lack of elite European football by moving quickly for top targets: “Everyone wants to play in the Champions League. It doesn’t help and I think that’s why it’s important to sign a Mac Allister, a Rice pretty quickly because if you sign a big player, or a big name, it makes it quite a bit easier. For example, if Rice and Mac Allister both come, if you approach players then they will think ‘well, we’ll certainly finish in the top four and we might have a chance for the title’. It’s important to sign someone quickly because it makes it easier with those to follow.”

While Liverpool remain in the market for the best players available, they have not always speculated as much as domestic rivals when it comes to accumulating top talent. Hamann believes that situation needs to change with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle all preparing to splash the cash.

The ex-Germany international added on the need to match the spending of fellow top-four hopefuls in order to remain competitive: “100 per cent. I think they need to spend 200-250 million. Whether the owners give Klopp the money, I don’t know. But if you don’t bring in at least four or five, maybe five or six players in, I think it will be mighty tough. You probably need a defender, going forward they are pretty well equipped, but in midfield you need at least two or three players. It will be interesting to see what happens. The longer it goes on, the harder it will be because they won’t be in the Champions League and they are competing with City, Arsenal, Newcastle, the Spanish teams. It will be a very interesting summer.”