Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp and his captain, Jordan Henderson, both said similar things after the Reds lost at Brighton. A transfer this month is simply a must.

For Liverpool, the slump was already concerning before they took to the field against Brighton on Saturday afternoon. What followed only underlined that even further.

Jürgen Klopp admitted that he could not think of a worse game in his career, while Trent Alexander-Arnold vowed that his team would improve — they need to, and quickly.

Only just over 24 hours earlier, Klopp had fairly definitively ruled out making another transfer before the end of the January window, ranting when asked the perfectly reasonable question of why it was deemed impossible.

There was logic to signing $45m (£37m/€42m) Cody Gakpo when the chance presented itself, but the Dutch forward cannot do everything on his own, even if there were one or two small signs from him at the Amex Stadium.

Even after his exasperation at being questioned over making a midfield transfer in the next fortnight, Klopp must privately realize how great the need is for his side.

With their Champions League hopes in the balance, Liverpool is at risk of setting itself back next season by failing to act now. They made the emergency signing of Arthur Melo in the summer as an admission of needing more bodies there and he has played a handful of minutes in one appearance.

Nothing has really changed since Klopp publicly declared Liverpool’s summer U-turn in midfield — now, they need to perform another one as the evidence builds that there are at least four teams better than them in the Premier League season.

Their performance against Brighton — and others recently — would suggest that the true number is even larger, with any European football at all doubtful on that small sample size.

“I can’t remember a worse game. I honestly can’t,” Klopp told BBC Sport at the final whistle. “Brighton played very well. They deserved to win. It was a very organized team against a not-very-organized team.

“Of course, we’re very concerned. How can you not be after a game like this?”

Klopp was not the only one making concerning statements, with captain Jordan Henderson also stepping up and talking after another disappointing showing.

Asked what went wrong, captain Henderson simply and correctly said: “Everything.”

“It hasn’t been right for a little while now and everybody knows that,” he added. “I’ll take responsibility and the lads will too. We have to try to put it right.

“We’re pretty low on confidence. The energy level is low. We have to keep fighting and hopefully we can change it sooner rather than later.”

Without confidence and energy, turning things around will prove tough. Something has to change and even one signing might not be sufficient, such are the troubles that Liverpool finds itself in at the moment.

Failure to try that, though, and they almost certainly can kiss goodbye to hopes of more glamor ties like the one coming up with Real Madrid. At this stage, any signing, let alone the perfect one, will be an improvement.

The question is whether FSG will sanction it or whether performances like this are set to continue.

source: https://www.liverpool.com/