The summer transfer window is now slammed shut and Liverpool opted against signing a midfielder to replace the ever-present Gini Wijnaldum after he departed for PSG.
Jurgen Klopp's only signing of the summer was Ibrahima Konate as the defender arrived from RB Leipzig early in the window.
Reds fans were crying out for a Wijnaldum replacement, but the Reds hierarchy resisted such calls.
Liverpool aren't short in the engine room, but there are question marks surrounding Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who both have just two years remaining on their contracts, the 35-year-old James Milner, who is into the last year of his deal, will have to slow down at some stage, and while Harvey Elliott has started the season spectacularly, he is only 18.
"I think it is very much a case of they’re giving themselves a bigger job for next summer now," said Matt Addison on a special podcast exclusively for members of the Blood Red Club, when discussing the Reds' decision not to replace Wijnaldum.
"It was always going to be the case where they were going to have to get one in next summer, maybe now they’ll have to get two.
"You look at James Milner, he’s 35 and by next summer he’ll be 36, so you wonder how long he’ll be going on for.
"There are still question marks over Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They both have two years left on their contracts at the end of this season.
"I just think if Liverpool could’ve got one midfielder in this summer, then that would’ve helped them in terms of their long-term planning."
Dutchman Wijnaldum featured in all 38 of Liverpool's Premier League matches last season and despite his tremendous pressing skills and ball retention, one of the things Klopp will miss most about the Reds' former number five is his availability.
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"For the short-term, this season, I think they’ll be fine, I think they’ve got the numbers. Harvey Elliott is there, that’s a huge bonus," added Addison.
"He’s kind of replaced Gini Wijnaldum in terms of having Keita, Elliott and Chamberlain to split those minutes across.
" Curtis Jones we’ve not seen yet but I think he’ll play a similar sort of role to what he did last season.
"He got around 2,000 minutes last season and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a similar situation this season as well, even though we’ve not seen anything of him yet, that will inevitably happen that he’ll come into the team because of the talent that he’s got."
German Florian Neuhaus was reported to be a target for Klopp, but Borussia Monchengladbach made it clear they would not be losing the talented midfielder this season.
"The thing that sticks out to me was that a target they’ve got in mind in that area of the pitch maybe wasn’t available this summer and they might be next summer," Addison said.
"That ties up with what we heard about Florian Neuhaus in the summer, suggestions from Germany were that he wouldn’t be leaving Borussia Monchengladbach this summer, but maybe he would next summer.
"It could be him or it could be someone else who’s in a similar situation.
"I just think they’ve given themselves a little bit more to do next summer but for this season, it’s not the end of the world."
