Brendan Rodgers will bide his time before making a bid for Gylfi Sigurdsson, allowing his former club the first refusal their agreement with the Iceland international affords them.
Swansea City have agreed a £6.8 million transfer fee with Hoffenheim plus personal terms with the 22-year-old, but the deal stuttered after Rodgers agreed to take control at Anfield.
Should Sigurdsson decide against a permanent switch to the Liberty Stadium then the Reds boss will attempt to land the midfielder.
"First and foremost, Gylfi is a Hoffenheim player," Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"I took him on loan for the second half of last season and he did very, very well. He scored seven goals and made a real, positive contribution.
"I wanted to sign him for Swansea but, like I've said to him and his representatives, that has to be his first port of call.
"If he comes into the market for whatever reason - and I'm sure there'll be a number of clubs interested in Gylfi - then of course I would like to be in a position to put our case here at Liverpool to sign him.
"If he comes into the market for whatever reason - and I'm sure there'll be a number of clubs interested in Gylfi - then of course I would like to be in a position to put our case here at Liverpool to sign him.
"But I've always said, I think he's a player Swansea have had an agreement with and they have to have every chance to try and sign him. That's only right.
"If anything changes from that, we'll look at it from there."
Sigurdsson will not be the only addition to the senior squad it seems. Rodgers is tight-lipped about who else he may be looking at bringing in; though did promise new faces.
He commented: "I like to very much keep my counsel on potential targets. I think there are a few players who can come in and improve the group straight away.
"I know the types of player I need to bring here to make us function well and that's something myself, the club and the board will look at.
"I know what we've got, more or less, in the squad, but I also know there are a couple of signings that could really improve what we do.
"That's something we'll work together on over the course of the summer and hopefully we can get one or two in."
Meanwhile, the Liverpool manager has suggested that Joe Cole will be given a chance at Anfield next term.
The 30-year-old spent last season on-loan with Lille. His first campaign with Liverpool was modest
Earlier this month the Ligue 1 outfit's coach, Rudi Garcia, stated that the England international would not be returning to the French club.
Rodgers said: "Joe is obviously a player who'll want to come back and show his worth to the group.
"I met up with Joe Cole when I was in Spain," he said. "I certainly know he's looking to come back.
"I've got to assess all the players. With the likes of Joe - he's a very talented player.
"He's obviously gone out to Lille and done very well and he has the opportunity to come back here and show his qualities. For me it's fresh for everyone."
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