Former England and Arsenal star Paul Merson has claimed that Liverpool still need another centre-back if they are to finally win the Premier League.

The Reds have brought in Alisson, Naby Keita, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho this season but Merson was speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Express) where he compared the distance between Liverpool and Manchester City to that of Rangers and Celtic.

“Liverpool will give the title a go, they’re the second best now, I think they’ve bought very well, very well.

“It’s like Rangers and Celtic. Rangers have to look up and think about closing the gap, and then see what happens the following year. That’s what Liverpool have to do too, but I think they’re a centre-half short of winning it.”

The Reds have been linked with a move for Domagoj Vida (h/t Daily Star) even though Jurgen Klopp had stated (h/t Sky Sports) that he is not looking to sign any more defenders after claiming that Joe Gomez could play as a centre-back this season.

Manchester City’s major signing this season has been Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City and Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan believes (h/t Express) that the Reds are closing in on Pep Guardiola’s men.

“Now it seems that they are getting closer. Over the last couple of years or so they seem to have been buying better players and building a better team.”

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Liverpool had a great pre-season, with wins over the likes of Napoli, Torino, Manchester City and Manchester United. If we can start the season in similar form, there won’t be any questions raised about us not signing a centre-back today.