Mark Lawrenson: Rodgers Must Sign a Striker and a Left-Back to Strengthen Liverpool

Liverpool favourite Mark Lawrenson believes Brendan Rodgers must sign a striker before the transfer window shuts on 1 September.

The Reds have splashed nearly £90m in total to sign six players this summer, out of which striker Divock Origi returned to Lille on a season-long loan. They sold their most influential player from last season, Luis Suarez, to Barcelona for £75m and are yet to bring in a potent replacement.

The Merseyside club's midfielder has been strengthened with Emre Can and Adam Lallana while Lazar Markovic will further add swagger on the wings. Dejan Lovren has been highlighted as the 'New Jamie Carragher' while Rickie Lambert is the only addition in the striking department.

Lawrenson insists that Daniel Sturridge will not be able to shoulder the goal-scoring burden and feels the former Southampton hitman is not in the same mould as his compatriot.

"The focus now is to bring in a new striker, but that won't be easy. It's a difficult position to fill because the top ones have already been taken. The only problem for me is say Daniel Sturridge gets injured Liverpool have no direct replacement. Everywhere else is sorted in terms of competition – but not up front," the 57-year-old wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.

"Rickie Lambert is completely different and if Sturridge was out it would be a huge problem. Brendan definitely needs to bring someone in. And not just anyone. He needs a striker with real pace. To say Sturridge will play all 38 league games you'd have to be very lucky that he wouldn't get injured."

Lawrenson also suggests that Liverpool must sign full backs, who will help Rodgers implement different tactics to try and win matches. Jon Flanagan covered up for Jose Enrique's absence at left-back in the previous campaign as Aly Cissokho failed to impress during his loan spell.

The Merseyside club are reportedly close to securing the services of fullbacks Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla respectively.

The former Republic of Ireland defender feels that signing the Spaniards will be a huge boost.

"Getting the left-back position sorted was a priority for Brendan this summer. I always maintain it is the one area that you just cannot chop and change," the 57-year-old explained.

"Last season saw a variety of players adopt that role and it makes it incredibly difficult to get a settled back four or three."

"The more games you play together the better you understand each other. And getting full-backs like Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo, especially in a Champions League year, would be a huge boost," he concluded.