Arne Slot remains confident that new Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz can help replace the creativity offset by the loss of creative talisman Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Wirtz made his Anfield debut for the Reds on Monday, playing 74 minutes of their 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao in their second friendly of the day against the LaLiga side.
The German international impressed for Liverpool, registering a team-high total number of crosses (six), with only Mohamed Salah creating more chances (six) than Wirtz (two).
His three shots against Bilbao was a total only bettered by two-goal Cody Gakpo (four), while Salah (23) and Dominik Szoboszlai (20) were the only players to play more passes in the final third for Liverpool than Wirtz (17).
The 22-year-old arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in June for a reported club-record fee of £116m (€135m) inclusive of a potential £16m in add-ons.
Wirtz is one of six new arrivals on Merseyside, after the Reds completed deals for Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman.
But Liverpool have also had some notable outgoings, including Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich, Jarrell Quansah to Leverkusen and Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford, receiving a combined £118m for the trio.
Another of those high-profile departures was Alexander-Arnold, who swapped Liverpool for Real Madrid early in the summer window ahead of their Club World Cup campaign.
The full-back made 354 appearances for the Reds in all competitions, playing a key role in their two Premier League title triumphs and their 2019 Champions League success.
Indeed, no other defender in Premier League history has provided as many assists in the competition as Alexander-Arnold (64).
He has recorded 82 goal contributions in the Premier League, trailing only Leighton Baines (85) among defenders.
And though Wirtz and Alexander-Arnold operate in two different positions, Slot is confident that his new midfielder can have the same impact in the final third.
"I think there is always room for improvement in every department, and we have added a few, in my opinion, extra weapons," Slot said after the match.
"Florian has a lot of creativity in the final third, and we have lost with Trent a lot of creativity from the back.
"Trent's crosses and picking out runners was so special. Flo has this quality in a totally different position. He brings that creativity."
