Liverpool 'prepared' to improve squad in January says Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to improve his attacking options during the upcoming January transfer window after losing Danny Ings for the rest of the season. The England international needs surgery to correct a second serious knee injury suffered in the space of 13 months and is not likely to play again in the 2016-17 campaign.

The 24-year-old's absence is accentuated by Sadio Mane's expected call-up for the Africa Cup of Nations which runs between 14 January and 5 February 2017, and ensures that even barring further injuries that the Reds will be short of options in attack come the New Year. Klopp has previously hesitated using the window to exclusively supplement his first team however is ready to U-turn on that policy when the market reopens.

Michael Edwards' new role as Liverpool's first ever sporting director will shake up the club's recruitment drive, yet Klopp has insisted he will have the final day on any new signings. Nevertheless, the influence of Edwards could be felt as early as January after Klopp suggested he must react to the loss of Ings and temporary departure of Mane for over three weeks.

"We watch the market all the time and of course we need to be prepared for different situations and one of them is injuries," the Liverpool boss said, according to FourFourTwo. "The African Cup of Nations we already knew about so we don't need to be influenced or surprised by that, but it could be a moment when we approach the market.

"It's not about how many strikers. Three strikers is enough, I think, but when Sadio is away we will be without a winger. We do not have many wingers, I would say. Roberto Firmino could play as a kind of a winger which would then give us just two strikers. That's how it is. But it is a long way to go until January and that month is busy. If we can go to the semi-final of League Cup it could be the busiest month of the year. We need to be prepared for this for sure."

Should Mane's Senegal reach the final in Gabon next year then he could miss as many as seven games in January. Liverpool face Manchester United, Swansea City, Chelsea and Hull City in the Premier League, and could have additional matches in the FA Cup fourth round and English Football League Cup semi-finals should they progress to that stage.