"Oh my goodness, [Liverpool’s title chances] drop a good 20, 25 per cent from where they were, without Van Dijk," Nicol told ESPN FC.
"I think right now Liverpool absolutely, because of this [Gomez] injury, have to go out and spend a lot of money.
"Joe Gomez, at 23 years of age, has already had two major surgeries. That means the chances of it happening again rise. You’re talking about percentages of Liverpool defending [the title], you talk about percentages of a player having another bad injury," the former Liverpool man continued.
"So I think this forces them into it and they should go and get Upamecano."
Joe Gomez unfortunately suffered an ACL injury when he was only 18-years-old - days after Klopp had first arrived at Liverpool.
Upamecano has already been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool. The French centre-back is currently plying his trade for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
