Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has urged manager Jurgen Klopp to make two January signings.
Liverpool are set to be without centre-back duo Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for the majority of this season due to respective serious knee injuries.
Thompson told the Daily Express: "Yeah I said that Liverpool needed to sign someone as soon as Van Dijk had got injured.
"I knew Fabinho could step in, I've seen him play, and as a defender you see people's awareness.
"I look at mistakes you make as a defender and his mistakes are few and far between, that's what makes him a good player to play at the back.
"But I think he's too good a holding-midfield player, one of the best in Europe, so we need another centre-back, we really do."
He also said, "I think Klopp and Michael Edwards are very shrewd in what they bring in.
"They do a lot of the due-diligence on players, attitude-wise, and rightly so, I suppose all other clubs do.
"But in the recent past we've had a lot of success with our players so is there one or two out there that we could bring in?
"Is there an older one which would cost you a small amount of money? But would get you by for a couple of years, two or three-year contract.
"Or do you go for a younger one who is at the top of his game and would cost a lot of money, and would expect to play every week? So it's a balancing act of where you go for a centre-back.
"The boy at Leipzig that we're going to be playing against, Upamecano, I know he had a bit of a torrid time at Old Trafford but I do like him.
"I reckon he will cost a lot and he will want to be playing."
