Liverpool legend Tommy Smith has insisted that the club should not be looking to sell Pepe Reina this summer.

The goalkeeper has been a reported target for Barcelona for the majority of the season, but Smith feels that the Reds should be aiming to keep hold of the Spaniard, despite the interest from the Soanish giants.

"Some people might think it won't be too difficult to replace him with him being a goalkeeper, but Bill Shankly always believed that the spine of the team is vital, and make no mistake a top class goalkeeper is crucial to that," Smith wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.

"I hope he stays because he is a very good goalkeeper and full of passion for Liverpool FC. I hope Pepe's time isn't up, but if it is we have to go for a top class replacement."

Reina was signed from Villarreal in 2005.