Liverpool have been told what not to do as Virgil van Dijk injury could get worse on them
The Reds are considering their options to replace Virgil van Dijk after the defender went sidelines and expected to be out for several months with a knee injury.
Jurgen Klopp's champions are being tipped to employ a new defender in the January transfer window with a number of players already linked with a move to Anfield including Leeds' Ben White, RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano and Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly.
However, they have been urged not to buy a centre-half not good enough when the winter transfer window opens in January.
Former Arsenal player Paul Merson demands the Reds to sign a defender who can meet the standard of van Dijk and play alongside the Dutchman when he comes back.
"A stop gap replacement for Van Dijk is also possible for Klopp but Merson feels Liverpool need to go big in the transfer market," he told the Daily Star.
"I think Liverpool’s players need to get together now and show they can cope. If they start losing games people are going to accuse them of being a one-man team.
"Van Dijk is the best defender in the business. But if you want to be one of the best teams in the world you have to be able to show you can cope without one player.
"They are going to have to adjust how they attack because before they would press so aggressively and sometimes leave themselves two-on-two at the back.
"That’s okay when you’ve got Van Dijk but Joe Gomez and Joel Matip aren’t in the same class. I would play Fabinho ahead of both of them but even then it’s not the same.
"They should go and get a defender in January and not just a cheap one who can fill in but someone who can play alongside Van Dijk when he comes back."