Five clubs who really need to loosen the purse strings

Liverpool do not have the bench strength to deal with injuries to their star trio

With Europe’s top leagues drawing to a close, the transfer rumour mill is steadily gathering pace and a busy summer of wheeling and dealing is set to be upon us.

Plenty of the game’s biggest clubs have underperformed this season; some have even over-achieved, knowing that a bulging fixture list next season will stretch their squad to the maximum. Both of these eventualities tend to lead to one, rather expensive strategy being deployed – spend, spend, spend.

Which clubs really do need to splash the cash this close season? Who hasn't spent enough in recent times? We look at five clubs set for plenty of incomings in the coming months.

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#1 Liverpool

Victory over already-relegated Middlesbrough on Sunday will ensure Liverpool return to the Champions League next season after a three-year absence. Mission accomplished, but they have very much stumbled over the line.

The principal reason for their poor form towards the end of the season has been their limited resources when key personnel have been absent. Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho have all missed much of the run-in through injury, and the results have suffered, as their replacements have not been of the same calibre.

Klopp has regularly reminded fans that resurrecting this sleeping giant was not going to happen overnight, but with such a dearth of options on the bench, and Champions League football to cope with, Klopp knows the squad has to be considerably strengthened this summer.

Attracting players shouldn’t be a problem, with Europe’s elite to face next season, coupled with the stature of the Merseysiders.

“We are a really interesting project,” Klopp said this week. “The base is still there, still the size and power of this club, and then there's the players' perspective - and that's really changed. We feel this but they have to see it before they [potential signings] make a decision.”

Klopp splurged almost £68m last summer, which compared to several of their main rivals was a drop in the ocean. Now is the time to spend, and spend big.