Liverpool were one of the sides to make the biggest strides last season as Jurgen Klopp guided the club back into the Champions League places.

Not only is there plenty of money in qualifying for the Champions League, but the chances of attracting the very best players on the market significantly improve if you can offer them the very best competition in club football.

After a two-year sabbatical, the Reds are now back amongst Europe's elite - pending a qualification game - and know they need to strengthen their ranks if they are to hit the next level.

So far this summer, Klopp has targeted Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah with very mixed results.

The red half of Merseyside were forced into a public and embarrassing apology because of their pursuit of Van Dijk and they appeared to cross the line in regards to 'tapping up'.

As for Salah, that deal is still very much on the table and recent reports suggest that Klopp is willing to break the club's transfer record - yes, it is still £35 million for Andy Carroll - in order to secure the electric Egyptian.

However, club legend Jamie Carragher wants Klopp to think long and hard about his additions this summer and insists padding out their squad, despite the added competition, will not do.

"The actual team, the XI, could go up against anyone – we saw that in the big games with some great results in those games," Carragher told Liverpool's official website.

"But over the season, especially around Christmas and January, it was evident that the squad wasn’t big enough or strong enough. That needs adding to.

"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.

"It makes the bench a lot stronger and your team a lot stronger. It’s not just numbers.

"It’s about getting the right quality that can go straight into the team."

Liverpool were Chelsea's closest challengers to the title around Christmas but faded terribly in the New Year. Coincidentally, at the same time Sadio Mane departed to play in the African Cup of Nations.

Dominic Solanke is the only addition thus far and while the young England striker, who just scored four goals en route to England winning the Under-20 World Cup, is a smart acquisition from Chelsea, he is not really to lead the club to glory.