Darwin Nunez has become the latest Uruguayan to sign for Liverpool and the first since Luis Suarez's exit in 2014.
The 22-year-old last night completed a big money move from Benfica that could yet become a £85m club record. It comes after he fired his way to the Golden Boot in the Portuguese top-flight with 24 goals in 26 appearances last season.
Nunez also proved difficult to handle during the two meetings with the Liverpool in the Champions League knockout stages. And since the emergence of interest from Jurgen Klopp's side, comparisons have been drawn between Suarez and the former Penarol youngster.
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A lot has changed in the eight years since Suarez's departure. In that time, Brendan Rodgers has left and was subsequently succeeded by Klopp, who has created a formidable machine on and off the pitch with the Reds.
The team who Suarez departed to, Barcelona, maintained their place among Europe's elite, but have since subsided and are now are engulfed by financial woes.
For many South American players embarking to Europe, often their biggest desire is to play for Barcelona or their La Liga rivals Real Madrid in Spain. However, with Liverpool becoming a force domestically, in Europe and internationally, that is changing, and the arrival of Nunez could prove that.
"That seems like the last bastion that Liverpool have to really overcome, no matter how much success they have had in recent years under Klopp, Barcelona and Real Madrid have remain the clubs people would be willing to move to," the Liverpool ECHO's business of football writer Dave Powell told the Bottom Line podcast.
"But Barcelona's decline is real. For all the bluster that they may come out with and the Spotify deal they've done, they're a club mired in financial crisis and it's something they're going to have to manage for a considerable amount of time. Their ability to go toe-to-toe with the biggest clubs just isn't there. Will it come again? I imagine it will because they're a powerhouse.
"Real Madrid have managed to reassert themselves at the top of the tree again. But this is the best time possible for Liverpool to make hay while the sun shines and take advantage of a pause in the juggernaut that is Spanish football over the past couple of years, although Real Madrid have succeeded this season.
"Having two South American footballers (Nunez and Luis Diaz), their most prominent young stars, won't hurt them a bit in terms of how they're viewed in South America, whether it's Uruguay, Colombia and beyond.
"Liverpool already have a foothold in there with (Luis) Suarez. I think the game is growing and there are different ways to engage fanbases far more than there were five, 10 years ago, so the more you can grow your global fanbase, and if that's done through having South American superstars playing for you, then you are potentially reaching new consumers.
"Same for the Nike deal, there's uplifts there. The more interest there is in the football club, the more likely you will be to buy Nunez shirts or Luis Diaz shirts, and all that funnels back into, in some way shape or form, to Liverpool's coffers."
