A new season always brings new hope.

Yet for Kopites that sense of excitement and anticipation ahead of Saturday's Premier League opener at Watford has been clouded by feelings of frustration and anxiety.

There have been two sides to Liverpool's preparations for the 2017-18 campaign.

On the field there has been much to admire during a pre-season schedule which took Jurgen Klopp's men to Tranmere, Wigan, Hong Kong, Berlin, Munich and Dublin.

Liverpool train ahead of first Premier League match against Watford

But off it supporters are still waiting for the real show of ambition in the transfer market which they expected to see on the back of last season's top-four finish.

It requires a sizeable leap of faith to believe that Liverpool are equipped to sustain a Premier League title challenge this time around.

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This window has been far from plain sailing for the Reds. They have only landed one of Klopp's three top targets in Mohamed Salah, who cost a club record £36.9million.

And then there's the unwanted distraction of Barcelona's persistent attempts to prise Philippe Coutinho away.

The Reds' pursuit of Virgil van Dijk went off the rails after they were accused of tapping up the Southampton centre-back.

Van Dijk, who submitted a transfer request this week, remains desperate to move to Anfield, but with Saints digging their heels in that saga looks set to drag on towards deadline day.

Klopp had hoped to strengthen his midfield with gifted Guinea international Naby Keita but RB Leipzig turned down £66m and simply refused to do business.

If van Dijk and Keita had been snapped up the current landscape would look very different. Liverpool would have splashed out the best part of £180m this summer – a proper statement of intent from owners Fenway Sports Group.

Gerrard backs van Dijk signing for Liverpool

As it is, murmurings of discontent remain. Their total spend has been under £50m – less than Manchester City paid Spurs for Kyle Walker.

When Liverpool last qualified for the Champions League three years ago they made a mess of it and the club went backwards.

They sold their biggest talent in Luis Suarez, bought badly and flopped on the big stage.

Will this time be any different? For a start FSG remain adamant that Coutinho won't be following Suarez to Barcelona, regardless of how much the Catalan giants offer after a bid of £90m was rejected on Wednesday.

(Image: (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))

Barca are prepared to break the £100m barrier for the Brazil international. That might have been tempting back in June but not now.

Such an eye-watering amount of cash would be of little use to Liverpool as this stage of the window. Trying to fill the void would be impossible.

It's critical to the Reds' hopes of success this season that Coutinho accepts that decision and devotes himself to the cause for at least another 12 months.

If he does that Barca will come knocking again next summer and Liverpool will have had the chance to put a proper plan in place in terms of finding a replacement.

Despite the lack of new signings, Klopp insists he's had “100% backing” from the owners. He wants quality rather than quantity and it's been his decision not to pursue alternative options to either Keita or van Dijk.

Unlike the summer of 2014, the money Liverpool have spent this summer certainly looks like it's been invested wisely.

Salah has been a revelation following his arrival from Roma. His blistering pace will add an extra attacking dimension to the Reds.

Cast aside by Chelsea, the Egypt international looks ready to grasp his second shot at gracing the Premier League.

(Image: Matthias Kern/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Dominic Solanke, whose fee will be settled by a tribunal, was one of the standout performers during the friendly fixtures.

It was a major coup by the Reds to land the England under-20s striker after his contract at Chelsea expired.

Andy Robertson is still finding his feet following his £10m move from Hull City last month. But the Scottish left-back has already shown that he's a decent fit for Klopp's bold blueprint.

There have been plenty of positives to take from pre-season.

Echo Predicts: Liverpool's 2017/18 season

Player of the Year Sadio Mane is back fit and firing having missed the final two months of last season with knee ligament damage.

Roberto Firmino oozed class in last weekend's win over Athletic Bilbao and the prospect of him lining up in a front three with Salah and Mane is mouthwatering.

Firmino needs to take the next step this season and prove he can be a 20-goal-a-season man.

Another major boost for Klopp has been the return of captain Jordan Henderson, who has fully recovered from the foot injury which sidelined him for the second half of last season.

(Image: (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))

Teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold has grasped his chance at right-back in the absence of the injured Nathaniel Clyne, while fellow youngsters Ben Woodburn, Joe Gomez and Ryan Kent also look ready to kick on.

The fact that Liverpool still haven't resolved Emre Can's contract situation is a blow, but there's been no sign of the uncertainty affecting the Germany international's performances.

The goalkeeping situation created a headache for Klopp at times last season but this time it's clear. Simon Mignolet has built on his impressive revival and looks destined to retain his status as the club's No 1.

However, the Belgium international knows that in Loris Karius and Danny Ward he has some serious competition and that can only benefit Liverpool.

Then there's the Klopp factor. As well as his tactical expertise, the manager has instilled a spirit and camaraderie during his Anfield reign which those training camps in Hong Kong and Germany served to strengthen.

The Reds certainly won't be under-cooked when they kick-off at Vicarage Road on Saturday considering the calibre of the opposition they have faced in pre-season.

Eight games yielded six wins with 19 goals scored and only four conceded. The highlight was undoubtedly the 3-0 demolition of Bayern Munich in their own backyard with the only defeat coming on penalties to Atletico Madrid in the final of the Audi Cup.

The loss of Adam Lallana for up to three months with a thigh injury was a major setback, while the sight of Sturridge limping off late on against Bayern was tough to take after he had enjoyed such a promising pre-season.

(Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

But it's at the back where there are serious doubts about whether Klopp has sufficient depth to handle the added demands of European football this season.

Liverpool lost just one of their 18 top-flight matches last term when Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren lined up at centre-back. But the most glaring statistic is that in the other 20 games at least one of them was missing.

They have both had injury issues and with Lucas Leiva having left for Lazio, Klopp's only back up options currently are Ragnar Klavan and Gomez. That's not enough if you want to compete on four fronts.

Liverpool simply can't afford a slow start. Everything they worked so hard to achieve last season will be on the line when they travel to Hoffenheim for the first leg of their Champions League play-off next Tuesday night.

It's a tricky tie and the stakes will be incredibly high. Failure to reach the group stage is unthinkable.

No wonder Kopites head into the 2017-18 campaign with a degree of apprehension.

Their belief in Klopp is unwavering but they just wish he had a few more new faces on board.

Keep Coutinho, buy van Dijk and see off Hoffenheim and come the start of September the mood will be very different.