Liverpool suffered a surprising 3-2 defeat at home to struggling Swansea on Saturday to put a serious dent in their Premier League title aspirations.

The Reds would have looked at the game as a chance to make up ground on leaders Chelsea, yet they were undone by two Fernando Llorente goals and a Gylfi Sigurdsson strike in the second half.

Despite Roberto Firmino’s best efforts, Jurgen Klopp’s men were unable to avoid a first home league defeat of the campaign, and only Klopp’s second since he took charge back in October 2015.

It now means that, coupled with Chelsea’s win over Hull on Sunday, the Reds are ten points adrift of Antonio Conte’s men at the top, but they do host the Blues in their next Premier League match next Tuesday.

However, they turn their attentions to the League Cup this week, where they will seek to overturn a one-goal deficit against Southampton with the aim of reaching a second successive final at Wembley.

The wheels have somewhat fallen off at Liverpool in recent weeks, and Klopp may need to dip into the winter window in a bid to get his side back on track going into the second half of the season.

Signings could be likely, so here is what the Liverpool spine could look like come February 1…

Simon Mignolet

Liverpool have had a few goalkeeping issues this season, but you sense that the number one place is now Simon Mignolet’s to lose.

Klopp originally gave Loris Karius his backing after signing the Mainz shot-stopper in the summer, but several mistakes, some of which were costing the Reds points, forced the Liverpool boss to draft Mignolet back in for the 3-0 win at Middlesbrough on December 14.

And, since then, the Belgian international has occupied the starting position, and looks set to do so for a while yet.

Jonathan Tah

It’s defensively where Liverpool have had issues this season, and that was none more so evident than against Swansea, where they conceded three goals at home to the league’s bottom side.

Thus, Klopp will undoubtedly be thinking about signing a defender this month, and one he should look at is Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, who has been widely tipped to be the next world-class German centre-back.

The 20-year-old made 45 appearances for the German club as they finished third in the Bundesliga last season, and he also won his first senior cap for his country in their 3-2 defeat to England last year.

Tah, who has a strong aerial prowess but is also comfortable with the ball at his feet, has made 21 appearances in all competitions for Leverkusen this season, and continues to show his capabilities in the centre of defence.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for the young defender this month and, based on their defensive frailties thus far, it would be a wise move from Klopp to bring Tah in to partner Joel Matip at the heart of the Reds defence.

Mahmoud Dahoud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm82Jc2bvxE

Adam Lallana’s fine exploit further forward could mean that Klopp is on the look-out for another central midfielder for his midfield three, and Borussia Monchengladbach’s Mahmoud Dahoud could be his man.

The 21-year-old was an integral part of the side that finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season by netting five times and laying on nine assists in a fantastic debut campaign in the German top-flight.

Although he hasn’t quite hit the same heights this time round, Dahoud is very highly-rated in his homeland, so much so that Liverpool have reportedly tabled a bid for the young midfielder.

The German Under-21 international has clearly got a very bright future in the game, so if Klopp can get a deal done this month, he could have a player for both the now, and indeed for many years to come.

Philippe Coutinho

Klopp could be on the look-out for a forward should he allow Daniel Sturridge to leave the club, but there’s no reason why Philippe Coutinho cannot lead the line for the Reds this season.

The Brazilian international was in scintillating form prior to sustaining an ankle injury in the win over Sunderland in November, and has only returned to the side in the last few weeks.

Coutinho netted five goals and laid on a further five in 13 Premier League appearances before getting injured and, although he hasn’t quite looked match sharp since returning to the side, there’s no doubt that he’ll be an integral part of this Liverpool team when he’s back up to speed.

A Liverpool with Coutinho is much more daunting prospect than a Liverpool without him.