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Liverpool's abject defeat to lowly Hull City only served to reinforce what's required at Anfield this summer.

This is a squad crying out for bona fide quality in the final third of the field.

There is a goals crisis which has to be addressed. The mistakes of previous windows have to be addressed if the Reds are going to avoid a repeat of this torrid season and regain their identity as an attacking force.

All last summer Liverpool's hierarchy insisted they weren't going to 'do a Tottenham'.

The Londoners had embarked on a £104million spending spree after the £85million sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in 2013 but squandered much of it on a raft of signings and trailed home sixth.

The warning signs were there but lessons weren't learned. Liverpool did exactly the same.

Rather than replace Barcelona-bound Luis Suarez with a top class marksmen they used that £75million instead to fund a major overhaul of the squad. The £116million they spent went on nine signings, most of whom have struggled to justify their price tags.

In the aftermath of a desperate night at the KC Stadium, Brendan Rodgers spoke about the need for a different approach in the transfer market this summer.

“For supporters, and for players themselves, it is always great if you can get in those marquee players that can really help you,” he said.

“And I think we can see that that's the type, maybe the one or two players, that we need.”

Can Liverpool still attract elite players?

The manager is right. The Reds need quality rather than quantity in order to push on.

The question is do they have the financial muscle and the pulling power to get what they need? And can they really do their shopping in the elite market?

Liverpool's recent past is littered with examples of them trying and failing to land stellar names like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa, Willian and Alexis Sanchez.

Their latest attempts to land top drawer talent this summer won't be helped by their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Manchester United showed last year that it is still possible to attract stars when you are operating outside Europe's elite but you'll probably have to pay through the nose to get them, like they did to land Radamel Falcao and Angel di Maria.

Just how much Liverpool will have to spend this summer is unclear.

A rough estimate would be around the £35million mark, plus whatever can be generated by off-loading the likes of Mario Balotelli , Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert , Jose Enrique, Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Sebastian Coates.

That kitty could be swelled to the £70million mark. The wage bill will also be heavily reduced by the departures of Steven Gerrard , Glen Johnson and Brad Jones when their contracts expire.

Kopites want to see a show of ambition from the club this summer – proof that the owners are serious about getting back to challenging for the biggest prizes.

This season has proved there is no substitute for quality. And Liverpool desperately need an injection of it.