Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has made a plea to the board to buy big this summer.
Van Dijk, who remains the Reds' club-record signing nearly five-and-a-half years on from his switch from Southampton, feels the club are approaching a critical period as manager Jurgen Klopp and the backroom staff look to accelerate a rebuilding process at Anfield.
"Obviously players are going to leave," Van Dijk said. "That's obviously been announced so we have to [recruit], if we want to be where we have been the last five years, then we obviously need quality imports, especially with those players leaving. I think that's quite obvious.
"But everyone knows that's going to be very difficult, it is going to be very difficult to find the right players but the club has to do their job in this case.
"We still have a lot of games to play for us and we want to be in the Champions League. I think that will also help to attract the best players in the world. Not all the time but it will definitely help."
Van Dijk was speaking after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League saw them exit the competition at the last-16 stage. Karim Benzema's goal was enough to give the current holders a 6-2 aggregate victory over the two legs.
With the Reds needing at least three goals to force extra time after their 5-2 loss at home last month, Klopp named an attacking lineup that featured four attackers in Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez but the visitors struggled to really test the home side's defence.
"I wouldn't say it was a new system, it was just that Cody played as the No.8, so it was new for him. He was trying to fulfil the role as good as possible because he's a very good player, especially between the lines and we tried to find him but unfortunately it didn't create us a miracle.
"Yes, disappointment [is the overall feeling]. We all know the game in Liverpool cost us massively. The way the goals came, especially the second half and it is something we are very disappointed about. In football you play against one of the best teams in the world and they punish you immediately.
"That was the case and it cost us massively. We started so well in that game and we let it slip away. Today, you give yourself almost an impossible job but anything can happen in football. We have shown it with this club many times. There was a slight chance but, of course, we needed a miracle to happen."
