Brilliant Liverpool must not rest on their laurels

Liverpool are currently English, European and world champions. By definition of titles held, they are the best team in the world. However, they must not rest on their laurels.

Jurgen Klopp may not like to admit it but his team - described by some as "mentality monsters" - have been lax since the Premier League returned. Bar the exceptional performance against Crystal Palace, Liverpool have been below par. It must be added, their drop in performance, certainly post title win, is completely understandable. This title has been 30 years in the making. The associated tension would have weighed heavily on these players. The release of that tension is necessary, and if that comes in lax performances, so be it.

Their 2-0 win against Aston Villa extended their winning streak at home to 24 games. They are two wins - against Chelsea and Burnley - from finishing a Premier League season with a 100 per cent home record. They are a remarkable team.

This excellent side is fashioned in the mould of their manager, Klopp. He has spent his career as a perennial underdog; at Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund and now Liverpool he has constructed teams that are more than the sum of their parts. At the top table of football, Liverpool remain underdogs – certainly in financial terms.

It holds, as incongruous as it sounds, that a club that have spent £75 million on Virgil van Dijk and £63 million on Alisson Becker can be described as financial underdogs. In absolute terms, Klopp has access to greater resource than ever before in his career but in relative terms - measured against the Manchester clubs, Real Madrid, Juventus, PSG or Bayern Munich - the Reds do not operate financially on the same level.

Further, Liverpool, despite their standing as the world's best team, are not a side without weakness. Klopp has fashioned a system and philosophy that accentuates their strengths and masks their weaknesses. Liverpool's starting midfield is functional more than creative thus the creative emphasis weighs on their full backs. Football is cyclical, so, at some point, teams will understand how to nullify - to an extent - Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The acquisition of Naby Keita was an admission in itself that Liverpool needed added guile. Fitness issues have meant the Guinean international has not had the desired impact, and that may change in the coming years for the 25-year-old midfielder.

However, the standards Liverpool have set demand that they do not rest on their laurels as they could suffer from the fatal third year as forewarned by footballing luminary Bela Guttmann.

“The third year is fatal,” Guttmann, who led Benfica to the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, often said.

Guttmann, a footballing pioneer, cautioned that after a three-year cycle, inertia set in; that any side, no matter how great, would become beset by its own overfamiliarity. It is a theory that still holds some weight.

If Liverpool want to build on the foundations that have been set, the club and FSG must make substantial additions to their squad this summer. However, the acquisitions of Van Dijk and Alisson were reportedly based on the fact that Fenway Sports Group (FSG) would not be expected to make any substantial signings for two to three summer windows post that big outlay.

That agreement cannot hold if Liverpool want to sustain their current level of scucess. The physical and mental output required to play within Klopp's framework cannot be overstated, so the chances of mental and physical fatigue setting in is elevated - and the fact that the smallest of drop off can have a substantial impact on Liverpool's effectiveness makes it crucial that the club is pre-emptive. Therefore, as this iteration of Liverpool enters its third year - the potentially fatal year - the Reds must disregard any predication of prudence to sign a player who improves this squad, sustains its excellence and puts pressure on current first team starters.

Timo Werner was that player but the club hesitated; he signed for Chelsea.

It is said that winners make their own luck and it appears Liverpool might have been the beneficiaries of a substantial slice of transfer fortune with the news that Thiago Alcantara might be available for a cut-price €35 million. The 29-year-old, who has only one year left on his deal, had looked set to sign a renewal at Bayern Munich but has now decided that he wants a fresh challenge.

Klopp is known to be an admirer, and should Liverpool get a deal over the line for the Spain international, it would take the current English, European, and world champions up another level. It would not only add further quality in a recognised area in need of improvement but would also freshen a squad that has seen limited change these last two years. Liverpool are at a crossroads of sorts - the decisions they make this transfer window will have a broad impact on the trajectory of the club after two excellent years.