Former Liverpool star urges Klopp to buy ‘a penalty box player’ in the summer

Liverpool have a breathtaking attacking trio in Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto but the club should still invest money in the summer to buy a striker, feels pundit John Barnes. Philippe Coutinho departed the Reds midway through the season and it was expected that Jurgen Klopp’s men would face some problems in the attack department.

To everyone’s surprise, the Brazilian’s exit has not affected the club; in fact, the front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah have stepped up and crushed defences week in and week out. The trio has now contributed 63 goals this season, with Salah making headlines by scoring 30 in his debut season with the Merseysiders.

Despite the attacking riches this campaign, former Liverpool star John Barnes still believes that the club needs to somehow find an “out-and-out goalscorer” in the summer.

“I think they are [the best], but for me I think it’s mostly down to the manager and the way they play,” Barnes was quoted by talkSPORT.

“I think the front-three have a lot to be grateful for, for having a manager like Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool are bearing the fruit of the trust they have put in Klopp, because the team is starting have the right balance, that will only get better when Naby Keita comes in the summer.”

“They need better all-round players. The front-three are great, but I don’t feel that they are necessarily going to continue to do this for the next two or three years. Salah is not a centre forward, I don’t think he is a player who can score goals consistently over a period of time. We don’t have players like that.

“We have players like Salah and Mane and, although Mane scored a hat-trick against Porto, they are not out-and-out goalscorers. So, as funny as it may seem, I think if they could get a centre-forward, a penalty box player and play Firmino slightly deeper, I think it will be better for the balance of the team.

“Yes, we’re scoring lots of goals but can we see Mane and Salah continuing to score this amount of goals on a regular basis? I think we need to get better individual players now.”

Of course, there is still need for top quality players in the squad. And with the money we have got after Coutinho’s sale, Klopp is going to spend in summer to strengthen certain areas but it needs to be seen whether he splashes the cash on a prolific striker.