Gary McAllister believes Liverpool are a "couple more additions" away from challenging at the top level again.
The Reds endured a disappointing campaign last season, finishing fifth and outside the Champions League places for the first time since Jurgen Klopp's debut 2015-16 season at Anfield.
Since then, Klopp has led Liverpool to both Premier League and Champions League glory while finishing runners-up in those competitions a combined four times during his tenure.
As they look to bounce back from only their second season without a trophy in the last five campaigns, McAllister believes Liverpool are only a couple of signings away from once again fighting for silverware.
McAllister said: "I think last season, when you look for the reasons why they were quite a bit behind Manchester City, I think there'll be loads of things you could come up with and they always seem to sound like they are excuses.
"But the way the club finished the season and the way the manager and the players got together to finish the season really well, even though they just missed out on the Champions League, I feel with the signings, I think everybody must feel really positive.
"I'm looking at the recruitment and looking at some of the players we have been linked with as well, with a couple more additions I'm sure Liverpool can be challenging at the very top."
The Reds have made it a priority to refresh their ageing midfield, with key men of recent years such as Jordan Henderson and James Milner allowed to leave Anfield while talents like Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been brought in to replace them.
McAllister is particularly enthused by the arrival of Mac Allister, who boasts a World Cup winner's medal after playing a key part in Argentina's triumph in Qatar last year.
"Yes, there's been some interesting new signings," McAllister added. "Well, first and foremost, they bring quality.
"You’ve also got the added bonus of Mac Allister being a World Cup winner, it brings the confidence that comes with that. Both are very, very talented young players. Younger players [who] are more vibrant but also with the ability to score a goal and make a goal.
"He [Mac Allister] is somebody who can play in two or three positions. But the big thing for me with Mac Allister when you watch him, he's a very good player when his team is in possession of the football, but more importantly, when you look at the other side of the game when you don't have the ball. I think that's where Mac Allister has caught my eye as well.
"He's not frightened of hard work; he works really hard for the team out of possession. You see a player that ticks a lot of boxes, and then the impressive thing is out of possession. That's a big thing."
Liverpool's spending for the window might not be over yet with the Reds reportedly keen on Southampton's Romeo Lavia, while Fabinho's impending move to Al Ittihad is set to bring in £40m.
McAllister has faith the club will give Klopp the financial power many fans feel his work has merited, explaining: "The recruitment is and has been pretty good over the last [seasons], certainly during the period with Jurgen.
"There's a new head of recruitment and I'm sure they're continually watching the market and they're continually watching who's available and who can be bought.
"I think when somebody of quality becomes available, I'm sure Liverpool will be there competing against everybody to try and bring the best players that are needed at Liverpool."
Kane gunning for Lewandowski's single-season Bundesliga goal record
Harry Kane has his eyes set on Robert Lewandowski's single-season Bundesliga goal record after scoring twice in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, though he knows he needs "to get a move on".
Kane scored in both halves on Saturday to take his tally to 42 goals this season across all competitions, also reaching the 400-goal mark at senior level for clubs and country.
The striker scored 280 of those goals for Tottenham, holding the honour of being the club's all-time leading scorer, while he is also the most prolific player in England history with 62 goals for the Three Lions.
With 35 goals in 31 Bundesliga appearances this season, Kane now has his eyes set on another piece of history.
Former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign, netting 41 times in 2020-21.
Asked about the possibility of breaking that record with just three games remaining in Bayern's league campaign, Kane said: "It's possible, but obviously I have to get a move on!
"I've got to maybe score a few goals next week. It's there, it's in touching distance.
"It depends on the last few games of course, but it was nice to add to it today and score a couple of goals to help the team."
Bayern next host Real Madrid in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday, before travelling to face Stuttgart on Saturday.
Pochettino says VAR 'damaging' English football as Chelsea denied Villa win
Mauricio Pochettino claimed VAR is "damaging" English football after Chelsea saw a potential winning goal chalked off at the end of their 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa.
Despite a bright performance, Chelsea found themselves 2-0 down at half-time on Saturday with Marc Cucurella putting through his own net before Morgan Rogers added Villa's second.
Goals from Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher dragged Chelsea level as they penned Villa back after the break, but the Blues were enraged in stoppage time when Axel Disasi saw a potential winner ruled out.
Disasi headed home in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations among the visiting Chelsea fans, only for referee Craig Pawson to disallow the goal following a pitchside VAR review, ruling Benoit Badiashile pushed Diego Carlos in the build-up.
With that incident coming just one week after Chelsea were denied a penalty in their FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City despite Jack Grealish appearing to handle Cole Palmer's free-kick, Pochettino has had enough.
"Everyone that was watching the game will feel disappointed. The referee said it was a foul and disallowed the goal after going to the VAR to confirm," he told TNT Sports.
"The referee is unbelievable and it's ridiculous. It is difficult to accept these types of things. In the semi-final it was handball and it was no penalty, the referee didn't check it.
"It is painful as it has damaged English football and I think Villa players and their fans didn't understand why the goal was disallowed.
"They said it was a foul and if you see the challenge… if we go into every single challenge like this and it is going to be a foul, we wouldn't finish the game with 11 players.
"We can talk about the performance or the decision – it is damaging the game."
Pochettino had no complaints about Chelsea's performance, though, as they avoided defeat for just the fourth time in 51 Premier League games when trailing by two or more goals at half-time.
The Blues previously achieved that feat in a 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in 1992, a memorable 2-2 draw with Tottenham in 2016 and another 3-3 draw with West Brom in 2020.
Chelsea racked up 21 shots to Villa's nine and put up 1.57 expected goals (xG) to the hosts' 1.1, with Nicolas Jackson and Palmer spurning glorious chances in either half.
"The performance was very good," Pochettino said. "We played really well and it is true in the first half we conceded too easily.
"To play Villa, who are fighting for the top four, I am pleased with the team. Now, we have to move on and the headlines will be about the disallowed goal."
New England Revolution 1-4 Inter Miami: Messi at the double as Herons run riot
Lionel Messi scored twice and laid on a goal for Luis Suarez as Inter Miami retained their three-point lead at the Eastern Conference summit with a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution.
A franchise-record crowd of 65,612 people witnessed a flying start from the Revs as they took the lead within just 37 seconds at Gillette Stadium. Carles Gil pounced on some sloppy play from Miami to tee up Tomas Chancalay, who lobbed Drake Callender for the opener.
However, Miami roared back with Messi leading from the front. They had a deserved equaliser just after the half-hour mark, Messi slotting home after latching onto Robert Taylor's throughball.
Messi had his second after 67 minutes, producing another composed finish after former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets split the New England backline.
Messi was involved in another two goals as Miami added some gloss to the scoreline late on; his first-time shot was saved by Henrich Ravas but Benjamin Cremaschi was on hand to score on the rebound after 83 minutes, then the Argentine teed up Suarez for a curled finish five minutes later.
Miami stay three points clear of Supporters' Shield holders FC Cincinnati at the top of the East, with the Orange and Blue keeping pace by beating the Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Messi rolls back the years
Ahead of Saturday's game, some feared Miami boss Gerardo Martino would opt to rest Messi after speaking of the risks of fielding the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner on New England's artificial pitch.
However, Messi came through 90 minutes with another mesmerising performance. He has now recorded a goal involvement in 10 straight club matches for the seventh time in his glittering career, last doing so for Barcelona between September and December in 2018.
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