If the last summer transfer window — the first under new head coach Arne Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes — was about opportunism for Liverpool, there is no reason to think that stance will have changed with the winter market now open.

If the right player is available for the right price, the Reds would think about making a move. If not, the roster that Slot inherited has been doing pretty well so far, with Harvey Elliott yet to feature much and the real Federico Chiesa still to emerge.

While it would be a boost to get a new face in the building — and Liverpool has done business plenty of times in January to build its current squad, from Virgil van Dijk to Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz — it won't be done only for a short-term lift. There are, though, some big priorities that need to be looked at in 2025.

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Going back to front, left-back could be something of a conundrum. Andy Robertson, who has under two years remaining on his contract, has made a few errors recently. He missed pre-season and picked up an untimely injury, but his form has dropped.

If a younger player was available — Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri, for instance — that is something Liverpool should think about, though it would need to lose Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas to free up room. At 27, it almost certainly won't be Fulham's Antonee Robinson.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch has been sensational but the Dutchman has never been asked to play this amount of minutes before. It can't be certain how his body will cope and any injury would expose a lack of an alternative in the Liverpool team.

Ideally, the Reds would be able to identify a player capable of covering for him — someone like Martin Zubimendi, but willing to make the switch. If not, adding another quality midfield option who could allow Alexis Mac Allister or Curtis Jones to drop in when required feels essential.

Wataru Endo was never going to be a long-term option and now nearly 32, his most energetic years are behind him. In possession, Slot needs someone who is much better than the captain of Japan, which explains why he has barely used him outside of the Carabao Cup, and why replacing him with a more stylistically suitable option is a must.

Finally, and with more moving parts, the Liverpool forward line might need a reshuffle too. Leaving aside for one second the Mohamed Salah contract negotiations, there is a question mark about the numbers nines as well.

Darwin Nunez is still not playing consistently approaching three years on from him arriving from Benfica. Diogo Jota tends to pick up injuries, and Diaz has been preferred to the pair of late.

Gakpo has been excellent off the left and with Diaz, that flank seems nicely set up for the next couple of years. On the other side, Salah's remarkable levels mask the fact that his unstudy, on paper at least, Chiesa, has barely been seen.

If Liverpool could snap up an elite forward who ties together everything Slot wants, that wouldn't be a bad idea. In that case, it would likely be Nunez finding a new home, though the level of interest in him and the price he could generate would come into it too.

Chiefly, the Liverpool priority at the moment has to be contracts — and that ongoing process will not be complete even if the big three get done. Beyond that, though, Liverpool has some recruitment to think about too.