It was never likely to be a busy winter transfer window for Liverpool. Yet that might not necessarily be the case when the summer market opens, with Arne Slot yet to make many changes to his roster.

Of course, the big ticket items in the summer might have to change if Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk or Trent Alexander-Arnold leave. That trio would need to be replaced, and that isn't going to happen cheaply.

But Slot has already confirmed that work is going on behind the scenes to bring in more players after Federico Chiesa and Giorgi Mamardashvili. Left-back, holding midfield and number nine feel like positions that might be useful to prioritize, though, as ever, there are several moving parts.

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Liverpool has not spent in January this time around and there are clear reasons for that. The Reds would only move for players who would make a telling difference and are available for the right price, with the word of last summer being "opportunistic".

January can provide such chances — think Van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and many more — but the summer is usually when bigger deals are done. Manchester City, with moves for Omar Marmoush and others, has shown that they can be accelerated for a premium, but Liverpool is in no such dire need of reinforcements. Slot's squad is already more complete than any other.

That was exemplified this weekend when Liverpool traveled to Bournemouth in the Premier League. Moving nine points clear — later Arsenal cut the gap to six — the Reds left Chiesa and Joe Gomez at home because there was no room for them on the teamsheet.

There is always going to be a clamor for more players but with almost everyone currently fit and available, there is no room for additions without players being sold first. And that, frankly, is not easy, at least for fees that would be worthwhile.

While most would believe a left-back signing would make sense at some point sooner rather than later, for instance, Liverpool was never going to add a third one to its books with Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas already there. Managing minutes is a difficult task without bloating the roster, albeit it is a very tricky balance to get right.

"There’s no doubt in the fact that Liverpool haven’t bought anyone this window and didn’t really buy anyone in the summer," Jamie Carragher said last week. "There must be a big pot of money there to buy whoever they want next summer."

The money, though, has never really been an issue. Liverpool has made mega bids in the past for the likes of Moises Caicedo, only missing out because he favored Chelsea. Not spending sometimes is a strategy, which is justified by the amount of waste that goes on elsewhere.

"Liverpool should always be competing for a league title, and we should always be competing for the Champions League," Slot told the BBC last week. "I’m hoping I will be able to keep the club at that level.

"I know people sometimes question this because they haven’t seen us doing a lot in the transfer market in the summer and now in the winter as well. There’s a reason for that — because we’re happy with the squad. But I do know we’re definitely working on strengthening in the summer."

Does that confirmation mean that Liverpool will splash hundreds of millions of dollars on new names? No. In some ways, it isn't news at all given work is always ongoing outside of public view.

The money is there and signings will be sought, but as Spurs, Manchester United and various other scramble for additions today, the contrast at Liverpool is clear to see. The Reds have no requirement to panic — just look at the Premier League table — instead remaining calm. In any case, the biggest priority has to be keeping the key men it already has before attempting to add any others.