Liverpool should have signed Shkodran Mustafi from Arsenal this month.
That is the view of former Tottenham player Peter Crouch and comes as a result of Liverpool's injury woes, particularly at the back.
Jurgen Klopp has seen both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez suffer long-term injuries during the course of the first half of the season and the Reds have not brought anyone in, either on a permanent or loan deal.
Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos had his contract terminated by mutual consent to move to Olympiacos, while Mustafi, also out of favour at the Emirates, is expected to leave either this month or on a free in the summer.
Liverpool were hit by an injury to Fabinho ahead of the game with Tottenham on Thursday night, leaving Jordan Henderson to play at the back alongside Joel Matip.
And the BT Sport pundits believe Klopp and the Liverpool owners should have made a move for a defender in the transfer market, with the deadline on Monday.
Jermaine Jenas said: “Let’s say that stop-gap was Sokratis who came in, or Mustafi, a centre-half out there who isn’t getting a game. Do you think Liverpool fans are going to be happy with that? Or is Klopp going to think that he’s got an actual centre-half and it’s better than Fabinho and Matip, or Henderson and Fabinho. Is it better that stop-gap than you’ve already got?"
And Crouch responded: " Yeah because I think those boys could go back into midfield, Fabinho and Henderson, it takes so much from the midfield if they’re dropping in. The kids are the kids, they’re not ready for the Premier League at the moment and I think a stop-gap at the moment is exactly what they need."
