Football journalist and top transfer source Fabrizio Romano has explained why, in his opinion, "a lot of players now don't want to join Liverpool".
The Premier League champions, who are also one of Europe's most famous clubs, would seem to be a dream destination for almost any footballer.
However Italian football reporter Romano did actually give a logical explanation for his view that new players are now wary of signing in 2021.
Liverpool have struggled badly with injuries this season and, in their last Premier League game - a 1-0 defeat to Southampton - midfielders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson filled in at centre-back.
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The fact that the Reds need urgent recruitment is, in Romano's opinion, putting some players off joining - because they fear they will only be a short-term fix.
Then when the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Diogo Jota are fit again, the new arrivals could find themselves out of the first-team picture.
"A lot of players now don't want to join Liverpool [and only] play five, six, seven matches, before the big ones are coming back from their injuries.
"Then [the new signings] are on the bench for one season or more," Romano explained on his Here We Go podcast, per SB Nation.
"So, at the moment, Liverpool are still with the same idea: 'We can stay with this team. If we have an opportunity, OK. If we don't, we stay with this one.'"
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Romano's view is that Liverpool's reluctance to invest in the January transfer window, despite their injury issues in defence, is partly the club sticking to their long-term recruitment strategy and partly players not wanting to come in just as a stop-gap.
The Reds do tend to wait for the right players to become available rather than panic buying and surprised many by not making any major signings in the summer of 2020.
However Portugal international Jota, who arrived from Wolves for an initial £41 million in September, is proof that new players can break into Jurgen Klopp's first-team plans.
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The 24-year-old seemed to have found a spot in Liverpool's star-studded attack before suffering a leg injury during a Champions League game against Midtjylland, which has kept him out since December.
Plus elite footballers generally have confidence in their ability to play well enough to keep their place in a top side, after they have moved to a big club.
Do you believe Romano's perspective that some players are unwilling to sign for Liverpool for fear of simply being a short-term option? Let us know in the comments.
All imagery: PA Images
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