Liverpool have, perhaps, their best shot a Premier League title in recent years this season under the management of Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds currently sit third in the table, level on points with second-place Tottenham and seven points behind leaders Chelsea.

After an excellent first half of the season, however, where they went all of September, October and November unbeaten in all competitions, times have got a little tougher at Anfield as the club have headed into the New Year.

Since the start of 2017, Liverpool are yet to win. Two draws in the Premier League against first Sunderland and then Manchester United, with a draw at Plymouth and a loss at Southampton in the cup competitions wedged in the middle, mean the Reds are in danger of losing pace in their pursuit of title glory.

January is the perfect opportunity for Klopp and the powers that be at the club to invest wisely to ensure they can keep up the sort of form they showed in the early stages of the season, then. Here are THREE places we think the Reds need to strengthen during this transfer period...

Centre-back

It is funny suggesting that Liverpool need to strengthen in this area seeing as they have six options on their books already, those being: Joel Matip, Ragnar Klavan, Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho, Lucas Leiva and Joe Gomez. You could even call it seven as Emre Can is a fairly capable centre-back.

Amongst those six/seven, however, the Reds lack a genuine world-class option and a real leader at the back. Sakho looked as if he could have become that man at the back end of last season but it is likely the Frenchman will now part ways with the club after his mid-2016 sagas. Investing in someone to lead the line week in, week out at the back is a must this January, and it is something Klopp has built his teams upon in the past with the likes of Mats Hummels for example.

Goalkeeper

Loris Karius, unfortunately, hasn't been the 'keeper the Liverpool faithful hoped their club had signed. Hailed as the Bundesliga's most promising and Manuel Neuer's potential successor last season, the German shot-stopper has been lacklustre to say the least and it didn't take long for Klopp to give him the axe.

While Simon Mignolet's form has improved after his return to the side, the former Sunderland glovesman is hardly the world-class clean sheet merchant that the Reds crave. Chelsea have Thibaut Courtois, Arsenal Petr Cech, United David De Gea, Tottenham Hugo Lloris and Manchester City Claudio Bravo (I joke). With the exception of the latter, all of Liverpool's rivals have high quality in that position, so it is time they caught up.

Striker

One of the things we have enjoyed the most about Liverpool this season is their ability to share goals around the squad freely, with almost everyone getting in on the act at some point. Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi and Adam Lallana have seven each, while Sadio Mane leads the pack with nine. Philippe Coutinho and James Milner also have six each - quite a remarkable.

You can't help but feel, though, that if the Reds had a consistent striker who could guarantee them 20 goals-a-season they would add an even more cutting edge to their attacking trident. Divock Origi may prove to be that man in the future, but the youngster still has a lot to learn.