Liverpool could be forced into swooping for either Kai Havertz or Jadon Sancho this summer - or face missing out on both of them.
Jurgen Klopp's were widely tipped to sign RB Leipzig star Timo Werner in the close season - but he is set to join Chelsea after the Reds opted not to trigger his £52million release clause.
Liverpool are not expected to make any big-money signings this summer as they guard against the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
But they may have to make some brave decisions if they want to have any hope of landing Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Havertz or Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho.
That's according to former Premier League striker Jan Aage Fjortoft, who regularly watches both players in his role as a Bundesliga reporter.
Both players have been linked with Liverpool, as well as their top-flight rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
And Fjortoft says the time to sign them is now or never, as he reckons both Havertz and Sancho have made deals with their respective clubs that mean they can move this summer - similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo before he left United for Real Madrid in 2009.
"It’s anyone’s guess how the market will develop but I think we are overdoing how much impact this will have on Bayern, or Liverpool, or Manchester United," Fjortoft told the Blood Red podcast as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
"If Jadon Sancho or Kai Havertz are on the market, there will be buyers.
"Havertz, I can compare him to Michael Ballack. There is not another player like Havertz and it is hard to define what kind of player he is. He can play as a false nine and he can turn into a number 10.
"And Sancho is unbelievable the way he takes on people. When he is around the box, you smell goals. Some he scores himself and some he makes assists."
Fjortoft, who played for Swindon, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Barnsley, added: "[With Sancho and Dortmund] I think they have done a Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United kind of thing where they said ‘we can not sell you now, but stay for another year and then we’ll sell you’.
"And I think that year is up now in the summer for both of those players."
If that is correct, then Liverpool face missing out on the pair.
But if Klopp is indeed keen on either - and he is known to be a fan of Sancho, having wanted him when he departed Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund in August 2017 - then the possibility of convincing them to remain in Germany for another 12 months remains.