Former Liverpool star Graeme Souness has revealed his concerns over Jurgen Klopp's drastic changes to the Reds' midfield during the summer transfer window, insisting his new signings must be brought in amongst an air of caution.
Liverpool have already snapped up Naby Keita from RB Leipzig and Monaco's Fabinho ahead of their season opener with West Ham United on Sunday.
You know what's awesome? We brought a whole new breed of midfielder to Liverpool in Naby Keita.
You know what's even cooler? We might have legitimately the best possible understudy for that role in-house. Brave, technical, incisive, savvy, hungry...and a Scouser, to boot #CJ10 pic.twitter.com/w9A4ExiueJ
— Alex Mansfield (@el_mansfield) August 5, 2018
The German would have had another to contend for a place in his starting XI had Nabil Fekir's move to Anfield not broken down at the 11th hour, clearly indicating his unhappiness with the options he had at his disposal within the squad last term.
However, within his column in The Times, former Liverpool midfielder Souness suggested the Reds boss must be careful while making wholesale changes, and that, potentially, such drastic action could have been avoided by utilising those already at the club.
"I find it really interesting that Jurgen Klopp has bought two midfielders, Naby Keita and Fabinho, and also tried to sign a third — Nabil Fekir," he wrote. "That tells you he’s not happy with his midfield unit and feels he can get more quality in there.
"That is something that he will have to man-manage carefully because Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Jordan Henderson are all really solid sorts.
"He maybe feels they haven’t got enough goals or killer passes in their armoury and is swapping their endeavour and energy for a bit more class, but will he get the same energy and intensity to win the ball back?
"It will be a far more physically demanding league than the ones they are coming from."
I’m predicting Salah to hit the 30+ mark yet again next season. Managed to hit 40+ with Henderson feeding him through, and now he has Keïta and potentially Shaqiri. In terms of catering to his strengths, he’s at the perfect club playing in a perfect system.
— Dharma (inactive - holiday) (@Kloppholic) August 5, 2018
Both Milner and Wijnaldum have enjoyed impressive pre-seasons during the build-up to Liverpool's 2018-19 campaign, and following Henderson's outstanding showing at the World Cup for England during the summer, there will be serious competition for places when the opening fixture comes around in seven days' time.