Liverpool Transfer News: Jurgen Klopp Discusses Plans Amid Julian Brandt Rumours

Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Liverpool are already in talks about making some summer signings and said he does not think a lack of UEFA Champions League football will affect the quality of players the club can attract. 

The Reds' recent 2-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur brought an end to a dismal winless run in the Premier League in 2017 that has seen Klopp's Liverpool side drop out of the Champions League places and into fifth.

The German manager explained that plans are already in motion to make some additions at the end of the season and improve the current group after Liverpool's squad depth was exposed earlier in the year, per James Pearce in the Liverpool Echo:

"

We are in talks with different people—players, agents, all that stuff. Not a lot of decisions have been already made at this point. Why should they at this stage? But we are on the way. At the end I'm sure we will have a really good squad. We already have a good squad and a few more good players will make it even better. There's a good base.

I actually don't think [we need Champions League football to attract players] but we will see. [...]

But of course if we are in the Champions League then it would have an influence. We would need a deeper squad and you have to be prepared for that. No question.

"

Liverpool are currently on a midseason training camp in Spain as they are not in action again until Feb. 27, when they face Leicester City in the Premier League.

Sadio Mane netted a double against Spurs to earn Liverpool their first league win of 2017:

His absence at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations was one of the key contributing factors to Liverpool's slump, as was Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho's dip in form.

Liverpool's cover for their brilliant front line was exposed as substandard, and one of the key additions they will need to make in the summer will be a new attacking threat.

Per Pearce, Bayer Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt is one of Klopp's primary targets, and he is exactly the type of player who could improve their squad.

Season	Appearances (as a sub)	Mins	Goals	Assists
2016-17	16(5)	1,531	2	6
2015-16	18(11)	1,626	9	3
2014-15	10(15)	1,112	4	2
2013-14	6(6)	597	2	2

Able to play on either flank or through the middle, Brandt could act as cover and competition for each of Mane, Firmino and Coutinho.

Meanwhile, his combination of pace, comfort on the ball and link-up play make him "the perfect fit for Klopp's Liverpool," per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe.

Despite being only 20 years old, German Brandt has already been a key part of Bayer's first-team squad for four seasons and made 87 Bundesliga appearances, per WhoScored.com.

He could be a hugely important addition to the Liverpool squad in the summer, and Reds fans should hope the groundwork is already being done to ensure he moves to Anfield.