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Less than a month remains before the transfer window, as tradition dictates, slams shut ahead of the new Premier League season.

And if certain Liverpool fans were already shuffling uneasily in their seats, then news out of Melwood on Tuesday morning prompted extreme discomfort.

Reds' fears were confirmed when Xherdan Shaqiri was discovered to have suffered a calf tear during Switzerland's UEFA Nations League defeat to England last month.

Shaqiri will sit out the next few weeks as he continues his rehabilitation, but is expected to be fit before Liverpool's pre-season programme is completed.

That, though, wasn't enough to prevent the inevitable calls for Jurgen Klopp to splash the cash in the coming weeks. Not least with champions Manchester City now starting to flex their financial muscle with the £63million capture of Rodri from Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool remain open to new arrivals but there isn't the pressing need for the sheer weight of spending that saw them splash out almost £250m in the previous three transfer windows.

Klopp has declared himself happy with his current charges and has talked up the expected availability of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Joe Gomez for the coming season, along with the introduction of fit-again youngster Rhian Brewster.

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That didn't appease those keen for fresh faces. But with Liverpool having won a sixth Champions League last month after racking up a club-record 97 points in the Premier League, Klopp's belief is not without substance.

Instead, much of the significant groundwork for this season has come from the efforts behind the scenes over the past 18 months in ensuring the core of the squad remains intact.

It started with Roberto Firmino penning a new long-term deal in April last year. Mohamed Salah followed suit a few months later, Jordan Henderson in the September and Sadio Mane and Joe Gomez before Christmas.

All were given improved new deals that reflected their growing influence on the team, and also acted as a sign to potential suitors - big-money signings of a different sort.

Of course, contracts are often no guarantee of a player's loyalty, but it's noticeable there has been no real suggestion Salah or Mane - both targets for Real Madrid last summer - have ever looked likely to depart this summer.

Flush with the financial rewards from their impressive campaigns both home and abroad, Liverpool are under no pressure to sell.

Indeed, their continued policy of allowing players to run down their contracts if they can still prove of use to Klopp means the club are comfortable with the situations of Joel Matip, James Milner, Divock Origi, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne, with the majority expected to agree new deals.

While recruiting from a position of strength is the ideal situation, the talent pool capable of at least maintaining standards at Anfield has diminished dramatically. Liverpool have rarely been more attractive, yet rarely has the group of potential arrivals of sufficient quality been so limited.

That's what happen when the bar is raised so high, while Klopp has demonstrated time and again he won't splash the cash for the sake of it.

If the right player comes along, he won't hesitate. But Liverpool's spending away from the transfer market underlines why the purse strings haven't been loosened - yet.