Liverpool goal-scoring great John Aldridge has warned that the Reds are in danger of becoming a "feeder club" for the elite sides of the modern game as they look to hang on to Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling.
Stand-in Liverpool captain Henderson has yet to agree a new contract and with his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2016, there is the prospect he may be the target of big-money offers from rival clubs at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Sterling's contract dispute with Liverpool has been conducted in a public setting, with sources telling ESPN FC last week that the 20-year-old England winger will not sign a new contract this season as he waits to see what offers come his way this summer.
Speaking to sundayworld.com, Aldridge -- who was Liverpool's leading striker at the back end of the 1980s -- backed the club's stance on refusing to give in to lavish wage demands of players and their advisers.
However, he fears Henderson and Sterling will get the kind of deals they are looking for elsewhere if the Anfield hierarchy do not reach an agreement with two of their star names.
"Liverpool are standing firm in their contract disputes with Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling, but I fear that there is a real danger that one of the great clubs in world football might soon be recast as a feeder for the game's modern giants," Aldridge said.
"I would hate to see Liverpool, the one-time kings of English and European football, being dismissed as little more than a place where young players hone their skills before they join genuine trophy contenders, but that is a real threat hanging over my old club right now.
"Top teams have no problem keeping hold of their best players and especially those they have worked hard to mould into top players like Henderson and Sterling, but Liverpool are not managing to do that anymore.
"Fernando Torres was lured away by Chelsea not so long ago for big money before Barcelona poached Luis Suarez last summer and now we find ourselves wondering whether Henderson and Sterling are the next star names to look for an Anfield escape route."
Aldridge revealed the average wage of a Liverpool player during his time at the club was around £150,000 per year, but the likes of Henderson and Sterling may now be able to command that salary in a single week, which highlights how much the game has changed in the Premier League era.
"We all find the wages some players are on these days to be obscene, but the reality is that there are clubs in the Premier League and in Europe who will give Henderson and Sterling the kind of wages their agents are demanding for them to stay at Anfield," Aldridge added.
"There is a huge injection of cash about to be pumped into English football's top-flight clubs and the players and especially their agents want a healthy piece of that pie and, in some ways, I can understand where they are coming from.
"Liverpool's American owners run a tight financial ship and they are reluctant to pay players the kind of huge wages [Manchester] United, City and Chelsea have indulged in of late.
"Fair play to them for sticking to their principles, but you wonder whether they will pay for it in the long run. If we reach the first day of next season and Henderson and Sterling are wearing Manchester City shirts, Liverpool will be the big losers in this story.
"If you don't join in with the madness and pay players and their agents the going rate, you may well end up getting left behind by rivals who are willing to play this high stakes game.
"Liverpool and their owners have some big decisions to make when they offer Henderson and Sterling contracts in the next few weeks as the stakes could not be higher."