Jamie Redknapp has suggested Liverpool target a move for West Ham United captain Declan Rice next summer should a deal for Jude Bellingham prove impossible.
It is no secret that Bellingham is a player that Jurgen Klopp admires and would like to bring to the club. The Reds, however, are expected to face significant competition for the services of the England international.
Borussia Dortmund will be desperate to keep hold of their prized asset when sides come calling for the teenage midfielder and are expected to demand in excess of £100m.
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It remains to be seen as to whether or not Liverpool are able to compete with Europe's elite when it comes to Bellingham, who is expected to maintain his position as one of the greatest players in world football for the next decade.
Offering one alternative the Reds could look to recruit, Redknapp is of the view that Bellingham's England team-mate Rice could prove to be a suitable second option to solve Liverpool's midfield worries.
"James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Thiago… they're not young men in the engine room. I think they may need to add one or two to take the burden off them. Of course, they've had injuries as well, that hasn't helped," he told the Essential Football podcast.
"The dream for all Liverpool fans, and the Premier League to some extent, would be for Jude Bellingham to come. He'd be the person who would fit into that midfield. He's a generational player, an incredible footballer. Jurgen Klopp, I'd imagine, has his heart set on him. He can do everything in that area.
"But if you can't get him, who is the other one? Declan Rice in the summer may be an option. They've got to be in the market for someone like him as well. That area is definitely getting tired. The legs aren't there, which we've been so used to seeing. We have all got so much respect for the manager but he's searching for the right recipe. The right areas in midfield to make things happen again.
"When you look at the team right now there needs to be changes. That's not a dig at the players that have been there, because they have been incredible for the team, but every great team goes in cycles. If you go back to Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, every time things weren't going the way he liked, he was given a year or two to build a new team."
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