Liverpool should shelve any existing plans to sign West Ham United and England ace Declan Rice in pursuit of Newcastle midfielder Joelinton, according to former midfielder Dietmar Hamann.
The 2005 Champions League winner believes his former club only have themselves to blame for their poor start to the Premier League season and reinforcements should have been added in the summer, after the club's pulsating quest for quadruple glory fell short by the finest of margins.
Midfield has been an area of Jurgen Klopp's squad that has been decimated by injuries throughout the current campaign with Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and Arthur Melo missing a number of matches. But aside from injuries, fellow midfield operator Fabinho has struggled for form and subsequently failed to provide Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez with adequate protection.
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Hamann believes the solution to the Reds' current crisis is a striker-turned-midfielder plying his trade at St James' Park, Joelinton, and the Hammers' captain should not be considered by Anfield officials.
Speaking to BoyleSports, Hamann said: "Liverpool are 14 or 15 points behind the top of the table now and I don't think that one player makes up that many points. Danny Murphy is right to suggest Declan Rice is a very capable player but I think it depends on how Fabinho comes back into the season because he's been really disappointing but he's a really brilliant player.
"I would like Liverpool to sign someone a bit more adventurous, someone like Joelinton from Newcastle who has a physical presence, can get you a goal and he has the full package. A player like him would suit Liverpool down to the ground."
He added: " I think getting a player of his quality in January is near enough impossible and that should've been done in the summer."
After back-to-back Premier League defeats to Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, Liverpool now sit eight points off Newcastle, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League place.
Following six straight seasons of qualifying for Europe's premier competition, Klopp's side are in serious danger of missing out on a place in 2023/24 competition, which would seriously dent their chances of being able to attract the desired midfielders to Anfield.
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