Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool can launch an even more serious challenge to Manchester United's supremacy next season if their summer recruits slot seamlessly into Rafael Benitez's Anfield set-up.
The midfielder believed his England colleague Gareth Barry would have been a suitable signing, however Barry's £12million transfer to Manchester City means that will not be an option.
Gerrard insisted Liverpool should be looking for players "of Gareth's standard'' if they missed out on Barry, and added: "He is English and you need English players at your club now.''
Liverpool's captain is hurting at the club's failure to win a trophy during the 2008-09 campaign but believes a few more quality players could end the wait to take the Premier League title.
Speaking ahead of England's World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday, Gerrard reflected on Liverpool's battle with United for league glory, which the Red Devils won.
Gerrard said: "Has the season been a success or failure at club level? I think failure is a bit strong but you've got to be realistic and look at the big picture.
"We've finished the season without a trophy which hurts. But from a Liverpool point of view, a lot of progress has been made.
"We are getting really close to becoming champions. Our next two or three signings as far as we are concerned are crucial to push on and try and go one better than this year.
"I am certainly not sitting here proud of not winning a trophy.''
Gerrard would like more players of the quality of striker Fernando Torres to arrive at Liverpool.
He said: "How do we go to the next step? Get more players of Torres' level. He is a massive player for us. You saw the impact he made in his first season and how good he has been when fit this year.
"If we can keep Torres fit, and had a little bit more quality to our squad, we can become champions.
"Manchester United won the league because they had that spark coming off the bench, that little bit more strength in depth.''
Gerrard is also confident that his former Liverpool colleague and close friend Michael Owen could still have an England future.
Owen has been overlooked by Capello after an injury-hit spell at Newcastle.
Gerrard said: "I'm a big fan of Michael Owen, a good friend of his. I'd love to see him get a move from Newcastle to a big club and get his England career back on track.
"I do believe he can play for England again. He has suffered a lot with injuries for the past couple of years but I believe a fit Michael Owen has got the ability to be involved in the squad.
"I'm sure he will be desperate to get back playing football again, staying fit and scoring goals. That is what he loves doing.''
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gotcha ..
If pool fans noticed, Benny signs players that maintain the squad at a certain level of performance even during injuries and not players which improve the quality of his squad.
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we have to be very careful about money spent , especially loans needed to do any purchase .
From a football fan POV, Benitez has wasted alot of money on players who simply dun play well for him/pool
it's time for Rafa to search for another " Steven Gerrard " from the academy .
He must be gutsy to do it !
Houllier has got the guts to try out Gerrard when he was in the academy .
Without trying , he'll never know .
Maybe there's one who can play at the highest level , but not for the reserves or U-21's .
He can be an average player , but as he grow and with composure , he can slowly be another Steven Gerrard .
well.. sure.. bt do u want to wait for a youngster to blossum than finding a quality player?