Liverpool are prepared to head into the new season without making any major signings this summer, but with Xherdan Shaqiri’s latest setback, that would be a colossal risk.
Having signed teenage pair Sepp van den Berg and Harvey Elliott this summer, Jurgen Klopp is happy with his squad, but the lack of depth in attacking positions could be a major headache.
Mo Salah was expected to miss the start of the new season until Egypt were surprisingly knocked out of the African Cup of Nations against South Africa, but Sadio Mane could go all the way to the final with Senegal.
If Shaqiri is injured for a couple of weeks or more, as might well be the case, then his pre-season would be delayed. He could miss the start of the season, which would mean fielding Divock Origi or Harry Wilson for a few games at least.
The pair are excellent squad options, but the European Champions should not be needing them right from the beginning of the campaign.
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Shaqiri might not be out for that long – more details will emerge in the coming weeks – but another injury to either him or another of the attacking options can happen at any point, especially following a busy period.
The likes of Salah, who played at the World Cup last summer, and have now represented their countries again this year at a major tournament, have had no proper break for at least two years. At some point, that will probably tell.
If someone was to miss a couple of months of the season at some stage, that would mean relying on Origi or Wilson to show a level of consistency that they might be capable of, but equally have not properly shown yet at this level.
As much as Origi scored a plethora of important goals last season, his performances were nowhere near the level of someone like Salah or Mane.
The Reds – like last year – could get away with not signing another attacking option. Klopp could take the risk and not pay a price. The question that must be asked, however, is simple: is that something that the six-time Champions of Europe should have to make do with doing? The answer, almost certainly, is no.