Mark Lawrenson has made the claim that Liverpool won't be made into a Champions League side if they purchase Clint Dempsey on deadline day, with the former Red insisting they need even more firepower up front if they hope to get in contention for the top four.

Brendan Rodgers is currently in the midst of doing a deal to bring Dempsey in from Fulham, but after losing Andy Carroll earlier in the day to West Ham, the side will be desperately in need of more firepower to support Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini.

And after finishing in a disappointing eighth position last season, in which Liverpool hit the woodwork more than any other club in the Premier League, Lawrenson believes that they'll need a lot more than Dempsey to cure their problems in front of goal.

"Liverpool cannot sign just Clint Dempsey, who is not an out-and-out striker," he told BBC 5 Live.

Clint Dempsey
Clint Dempsey is trying to push through a Liverpool move, but will he take them to the Champions League? Reuters

"They need someone else as well, otherwise their problems will be the same as last year - not enough goals. I can just see them being in the same predicament as last season."

Liverpool suffered from a lack of firepower in their opening match of the season, losing to West Brom 3-0, but the club were able to recover to draw with Manchester City the following weekend.

Meanwhile, Demspey has been desperately trying to push through a move away from Fulham, refusing to play for the Cottagers so far this season.

Fulham went so far as to put in a complaint with the Premier League over Rodgers' comments regarding the 29 year old earlier on in the summer.

And as deadline day heated up, Sky Sports reported that Fulham had rejected a bid from Liverpool to try and pry the forward to Anfield.

Tottenham are also believed to be interested in Demspey, but Rodgers is in pole position to capture the star.