Robbie Fowler believes Liverpool must sign “five or six players as a minimum” this summer after a disappointing campaign.
The Reds legend believes strengthening the wide areas should be a priority, with the right additions capable of unlocking the full potential of £200m strike duo Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
Liverpool made Isak the most expensive signing in British football history when they completed his £125m move from Newcastle United on September 1.
The Sweden international arrived after Ekitike joined from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth £79m in July.
Ekitike finished his debut season as Liverpool’s top scorer with 17 goals, but the France international suffered an Achilles rupture in April and is expected to miss the opening months of the new campaign.
After a season in which Arne Slot’s side suffered 19 defeats in all competitions, Fowler hopes Liverpool will be active in the transfer market and insists adding creative wide players is essential to provide long-term support for Isak and Ekitike.
“I mean the priority, for me, I think we probably need about five or six players as a minimum,” Robbie Fowler told the Liverpool Echo. “If you look at some of the benches we’ve had this season, they’ve been quite weak compared to the first team.
“So I think we are at the moment probably where we were a couple of years ago where we needed players to come into the team and the squad. If you’re looking at it from a Liverpool fan’s perspective I’d be amazed if it’s not five players as a minimum.”
Fowler added: “It’ll be interesting because the players coming in, they (Ekitike, Isak and Florian Wirtz) have been here a year now and they will know what is expected and they will probably understand what Liverpool is all about.
“But I refer back to pre-season, the form we have seen from them at their previous clubs, they are all neat and tidy players but they have obviously come in with a plan from (CEO of football) Michael Edwards and (sporting director) Richard Hughes, who have sat down and earmarked where they are going to play.
“I’d be amazed if there is not a conversation over where new players are going to fit into a system because if you are spending £200m upwards on strikers then you’ve got to have the players who can supply them.
“Now if you have a team plan or formation that indicates that wide players will cut inside all the time then that is not conducive to spending £200m on strikers.
“For me, there’s obviously something that needs to be done in terms of getting players in that far end of the pitch who can supply crosses by going on the outside, as well as players up that end of the pitch who can cut inside.
“That’s why maybe this year, I mean ‘write-off’ is probably a wrong phrase, but Isak was available, Ekitike was available, so obviously you’ve signed players for £200m there.
“So it seems crazy that you’re picking those players and you haven’t got someone there who can get to the byline and put balls into the box for these strikers to attack,
“If you’re playing up front and cutting inside all the time where all the defensive bodies are then it’s hard and difficult.
“Not only for the wingers to find the forward but also the forward is then feeding off scraps. So, for me, it’s obvious if you spend £200m then you get [more] players who are not afraid to go that way [down the line] rather than cutting inside all the time.”
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