BRENDAN RODGERS INSISTS Liverpool will be looking for quality rather than quantity when they attempt to strengthen their squad this summer.
The Reds are currently in a rich vein of form, winning their past three Premier League games on the bounce — scoring 13 goals in the process — with only Manchester United and Tottenham picking up more points since the start of December.
Rodgers believes the January additions of Daniel Sturridge and Phillippe Coutinho have been key to this revival, and insists further quality additions in the summer could see the club competing at the top again.
“It is quality we are after now, not quantity,” he told reporters. “We see the impact of Coutinho, and Sturridge’s quality, in January. That’s what we’re looking for. If we bring in another three or four players of that quality, add that to what we have got, then we have got a strong squad that can compete.
“You look at what we have done this season, and the progression is there to see. In our first 14 games, we were only 12th in the table, but our last 14 we are third best – and that is what we expected.
“It was all about the players bedding in and coming to terms to what we are after, and that takes time. I think you can see we are getting there now, and we have a really strong squad already. Ideally, in terms of squad numbers, I’m looking that we have between 20 and 22 – two players in every position and your three goalkeepers.”
Rodgers was frustrated in his attempts to bring Clint Dempsey to Anfield last summer, but believes the new recruitment staff at Liverpool will help ensure he enjoys a more productive window this time around.
“What is important is there is a lot of terrific work going on behind the scenes with the scouting department getting those lists together, we never had that last summer,” he said. “What I didn’t want to do was to waste the club’s money. We did not have the time to be extensive in our research – and that was the big issue.
“We are much better placed now. There is great collaboration that goes on between all the departments. January was a productive window for us and hopefully, if we do similar in the summer, then it’s going to be a real good place for us.”
