Liverpool returned to winning ways on Thursday night with a 3-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur, but their defensive woes deepened as well.
The club confirmed after the game that Joel Matip has damaged his ankle ligaments and is likely to be out for a number of weeks.
They are already without Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, who are expected to miss the season, and have been forced to play Fabinho and Jordan Henderson at the heart of their defence.
Former Liverpool players have been calling for the club to sign a defender in order to retain the league title but the Reds have been insistent that they will not sign anyone this month.
And Owen conceded that he understands why the Reds do not want to go into the market as they are unlikely to land someone of the required quality at a good price.
He also pointed out that Van Dijk and Gomez will return at some point and that would make spending big on a defender a bit redundant.
The former striker said on Premier League TV after the Tottenham game: “Yes, it is definitely [a] difficult [market].
“I see the arguments and I do not disagree one bit with what Jurgen Klopp is saying.
“You have got to understand that we are in a pandemic and you can’t just go out and spend money.
“Who is going to sell any decent player halfway through the season? Nobody is going to do that.
“You can go out and get somebody on loan, but are they going to be as good as Henderson at the back or are they going to be as good as already what they have got?
“It is another body then and it eats into his budget for next season.
“You can go blitz someone out of the water and spend £60m on another centre-back, but all of a sudden Van Dijk and Gomez are going to come back soon and then what?
“Then you have got another problem in hand, you have got a £60m asset who is not playing and things like that.
“But then I see the other side of the argument as well.
“Hang on a minute you are talking about the league title here. That could turn it into a contender to champion if you get the right man in.
“As Jurgen Klopp said, tell me who is out there for the right price? They are not going to just throw money away.”
Liverpool are working to try to identify a centre-back to sign and recently made an approach for Sokratis, who has now joined Olympiacos.
