Arne Slot has admitted Liverpool's transfer summer plans will be influenced by the long-term injury to Hugo Ekitike - and could be hampered by a failure to qualify for the Champions League.
The Reds make a first-ever trip to take on Everton at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday afternoon aiming to take a significant step closer to regaining their place at Europe's top table having been dumped out at the quarter-final stage in midweek by holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool, who are currently four points clear in the fifth and final Champions League berth, will have to negotiate their final six Premier League games without Ekitike, who faces months on the sidelines having ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right leg on Tuesday.
Ekitike is likely to be absent for a significant period of the new campaign which would leave Alexander Isak, who only made his first start in almost four months against PSG after a broken leg, as Liverpool's only recognised senior centre forward.
And Slot accepts forward cover will form part of the Reds' thinking this summer while underlining the financial importance of securing Champions League football.
"I think you always take into account which players you are having available for large parts of next season and then you think ‘what’s there on the market, what can we afford, who wants to come to us?’," he said.
"So it is not as simple as people think it is... ‘oh there is a good player walking around, let’s sign him’. You always look at your squad for the short and long-term. Especially this club is very focused on the long-term, a lot of other clubs are very focused on the short-term but this club tries to combine that with the long-term.
"So a lot of factors go into a decision and one of them is definitely Hugo being out and the other one is what is available and what does the rest of the team look like and what do we need?
"But we are mainly focused here on the upcoming six games because that could also impact our plans for the summer at this club."
