Jurgen Klopp insists he is "not stubborn" when it comes to bringing in new Liverpool players but remains confident in the ability of his current squad.
Liverpool were beaten 3-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend in a performance Klopp described as the worst he has witnessed during his coaching career.
The Reds, who won a domestic double last season and fell just short of an unprecedented quadruple, are ninth in the Premier League and now 10 points adrift of the top four.
Klopp has already added Cody Gakpo to his squad this window in a deal that could rise to £44million (€50m), but he recently ruled out more signings for the sake of it.
Having grown frustrated at the line of questioning at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Brighton game, Klopp was again tetchy when speaking to reporters on Monday.
"It must be a language issue that you ask this question again and again," he said when probed on potential incoming activity.
"We look outside. It's not that we are stubborn and think we will go with these boys until 2050. That's not how we see it, it's all about what you can do and what you want to do.
"It's always each year the same. It should be boring from your side, the transfer window in each press conference. Whoever comes from your agency asks this question.
"I cannot change my answers. If the solutions for us are out there, available and doable, of course we would bring in players to help.
"But we have an existing squad as well, and we are underperforming definitely. But I cannot sit here all the time and blame everybody else, it's my responsibility that they perform.
"That's my first concern. Yes we have limited options, but we have players with a contract here, they are just unavailable.
"If they are all in, it's a different situation. Our squad is not too small. Yes, we have to strengthen, but is this the right moment for us to [sign a player]? I can't see it."
Liverpool are winless in three matches this year, a run that includes a 2-2 home draw with Wolves in the FA Cup third round.
The sides are set to face off at Molineux in a replay on Wednesday, and Klopp suggested he will name as strong a line-up as possible.
"We go as strong as we can, but it always depends on the situation we're in," he said. "Not all of the players who played the last game are available now, for different reasons.
"Yes, we'll make changes. We want to win the game so we obviously need fresh legs.
"The easy thing for me is to tell the boys, 'you put us in a situation with the game at Brighton, let's see how you can get us out of that.' But I just can't do that."
Neymar should have won five Ballons d'Or, claims Buffon
Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.
Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.
Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.
He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.
And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.
"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera
"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.
"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."
Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.
When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Jonathan David names Barcelona as dream club amid Lille uncertainty
Jonathan David admits it is his dream to play for Barcelona as he prepares to enter the final six months of his Lille contract.
The Canada international is into his fifth season with the Ligue 1 side but is due to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.
Lille have attempted to persuade David with a new deal, though he looks set to depart Stade Pierre-Mauroy in 2025 – potentially as early as January if a club is prepared to pay a transfer fee.
However, while the 24-year-old is seemingly open to a move to Barcelona, he suggested he would prefer to wait until the end of the campaign before taking the next step in his career.
"Going to a club midseason is never easy," he told The Athletic. "It's not like the beginning of a season where you have a pre-season, you get to know your team-mates, you have time to gel.
"In January, things are very hectic. It's about right now. It's tougher."
"[Barcelona] was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it's your dream to play for them.
"Some people might say, 'Oh, he's staying at Lille, this is a downgrade, he's not getting better'. But for me, there's always opportunities to get better."
David has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Lille in all competitions this season, including goals against heavyweight sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League.
Including penalties, eight of those goals have been scored via his stronger right boot, four with his left and one with his head – an area the forward accepts he can still improve.
"Aerially, I can get better," he said. "Getting that header on target and scoring.
"I can get in good positions and win headers but the finishing touch, I'm still missing. With my back to goal, I can also get better."
David is averaging a goal every 112 minutes across all competitions this season, which compares to one every 139 minutes last season and 131 in 2022-23.
However, he still has some way to go to match the 18 goals scored in 27 league games for former club Gent in 2019-20.
"Things are good right now because I'm scoring goals," David said.
"But is this the best I've played in my life? Probably not. For me, it was my second year in Belgium. That was the season of my life."
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