If Manchester City sign Harry Kane and Chelsea seal a deal for Erling Haaland then it will “push them clear” of Liverpool, according to John Aldridge.
The Reds recovered from a poor run of results during the middle of 2020/21 season to finish third and qualify for the Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had to play most of the campaign without centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, who picked up long-term injuries.
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Man City were head and shoulders above all the other teams in the Premier League, finishing 17 points ahead of Liverpool, but the Reds did find themselves two points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea, who won the Champions League.
However, Aldridge is worried that Kane – who Spurs reportedly want £150m for – and Haaland will go to rivals City and Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
Aldridge wrote in the Sunday World: “Liverpool should be trying to sign Harry Kane from Spurs this summer, maybe even Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, but it is never going to happen.
“Having just witnessed a season that saw his strikers miss chance after chance, Klopp doesn’t need me to tell him that he needs a top-class finisher to play in the Roberto Firmino role in his team.
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“Sadly, the top-tier players are out of Liverpool’s reach, with the wages that Chelsea and City can offer.
“While Klopp will be thinking that a team featuring a fit-again Virgil van Dijk and new signing Ibrahima Konate can give his team the defensive solidity they lacked in recent months, City and Chelsea could rewrite the game once more if they do what I expect them to do this summer.
“No one will be surprised if Kane joins City. If that deal goes through, it will take Pep Guardiola’s side to a different level and push them clear of Liverpool’s reach.
“Then you would expect Thomas Tuchel to be given a huge transfer kitty to work with at Chelsea. That would allow him to go after a world-class striker like Erling Haaland with the realistic hope of getting him from Borussia Dortmund.
“Haaland might want half-a-million quid a week and would cost a whopping £120million, but moneybags Abramovich could fund that kind of deal if he wanted to. So don’t be surprised if they try and make it happen.
“City, with Kane up front and Chelsea with Haaland leading their line, would be different propositions compared to the two teams we saw in this season’s Champions League final.
“That is the great unknown as we head into this summer.”