Liverpool's once imperious ship now represents but a shadow of its former presence, with the Premier League giants struggling for form and fluidity this season; now signings must be made in order to secure future success.

Pre-season preparation flew out of the window after competitive proceedings kicked into place, with the Reds quickly fallen behind the pace-setters at the forefront of the division, and boss Jurgen Klopp does indeed now have work on his hands.

According to Dean Jones - writing for GIVEMESPORT earlier in January - assiduous Fulham centre midfielder Joao Palhinha had been distinguished as a transfer option for the Merseyside club this winter, and while he only joined the Cottagers in the summer for £20m, an enticing bid from Liverpool could prise him away from the clutches of his west London outfit.

The report continues to state that the impressive machine has been nothing short of a revelation for his newly-promoted side this season, and given the consistency of his prowess, he would enhance any outfit he played for.

Arriving in the Premier League for what is increasingly emerging as a bargain, the 27-year-old Palhinha has thus far scored three goals from his deeper position on the pitch.

But the most profoundly splendid elements to his skill set do not lie in his offensive strengths; with Sofascore recording his average league rating at 7.12 this term.

The 18-cap gem's incredible 4.7 tackles per game have seen him dubbed "Casemiro-esque" by writer Zach Lowy, while his 1.9 clearances and 1.1 interceptions have proved invaluable for Marco Silva's outfit, who perch proudly in seventh place after clinching promotion from the EFL Championship last year.

Also winning 64% of his duels and completing 82% of his passes, he is indeed the robust phenom Liverpool so dearly need to charge the batteries once again.

Should he arrive, he would be the perfect replacement for the likely-outgoing Naby Keita, who has been stricken with incessant injury issues since arriving at the club for £48m in 2018, only making one starting league appearance this season.

Keita has recorded a lowly 6.50 rating in the English top-flight from his bit-part role this term, and has only completed 75% of his passes and made 0.2 tackles per match, a sizable decline on the numbers registered by Palhinha.

As such, Julian Ward and co must do everything they can to land the Portuguese powerhouse, he has swiftly proven his mettle as a standout component in a thriving team, and among Liverpool's crop of talent, one could only imagine the impact he would have from the middle, pulling the strings and serving as the “engine” - as dubbed by Statman Dave - to roar Anfield into formidable and unrelenting life.