Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool just missed signing Alexis Sanchez, Dele Alli

If former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had his way, the Reds would have two of the Premier League's most exciting players on the books.

Rodgers, who was sent packing by the Reds earlier this season and replaced by Jurgen Klopp, claims he was on the verge of signing both Alexis Sanchez and Dele Alli during his tenure, and also outlined his disappointment over the fact that, instead, he was only able to recruit Rickie Lambert.

"I manage the club how I want to but there were other conditions that meant that we could not get players that I wanted in," Rodgers said in a candid interview with Sky Sports' "Goals on Sunday" show.

"The huge blow for us was we felt we were getting Alexis Sanchez. We thought Luis (Suarez) was going and he would have been the like for like replacement. He would have been perfect for us, how aggressive he is and how he presses the game. If we had got Alexis in after Luis going, it would have been a smooth transition. Then we were bringing Rickie Lambert in alongside that.

"But it ended up that we didn't get Alexis Sanchez and then suddenly there is a lot of pressure on Rickie Lambert and that wasn't meant to be the plan."

As for Alli, the 19-year-old midfielder who has taken England by storm this season with Spurs, Rodgers claims a deal was all but sealed before everything eventually fell apart.

"(MK Dons coach) Karl (Robinson) had actually come on to me and said, 'Listen, I've got a player Brendan, I think he is going to be fantastic. I'd love to see him at Liverpool.' We watched him, looked at him and then I spent a couple hours in a hotel room with him," he said.

"He wanted to come to Liverpool. It was just then about getting the deal done with the club and unfortunately it never got done but at that point, that Saturday evening, we thought we had him in, it was done.

"He stayed on then, the deal didn't get done between the clubs and eventually he went to Tottenham, which was frustrating and disappointing really."

How different things could have been.