When the transfer window opened last summer Liverpool were quick out of the blocks.
They managed to get a deal done for Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig for £36m before the end of May, the transfer going through on July 1. The early business had created some hope that a flurry of new arrivals could come through the door before the season began, but by the time the 2021/22 campaign had got underway, there was only Konate who was a new face.
After the success of the Premier League title followed the disappointment of the behind-closed-doors 2020/21 season, a campaign ravaged by injury and affected by poor form. The Reds managed to get themselves into a Champions League place but at one stage even the Europa Conference League was looking in jeopardy.
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The January of that season was the cause of understandable ire from some fans. The injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez were seen as surely being enough for owners Fenway Sports Group to spend to aid Jurgen Klopp's efforts. But the arrival of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies for a combined sum of around £3m - the former on loan - did not address the issue sufficiently and Liverpool had to rely on the likes of Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams to step into the breach.
There was the backdrop of a pandemic and uncertainty over the future to provide some context behind the decision not to spend in that window, but it was a risk that could have backfired and one that FSG suffered a near-miss over, with the potential of a season without Champions League football being something that would have had ramifications on what future business could be conducted.
Fast-forward to January of this year and not much business was expected. But when Tottenham Hotspur decided to show their hand with regards to Luis Diaz, a target for this summer, it forced FSG's hand and the green light was given to get the deal done, the Reds making the most of Porto's need for cash to satisfy a short-term debt, providing them with a chunk of the £37m up-front fee immediately. Had it been Europa League football that Liverpool would have been playing should the gamble of 12 months previous failed, then it is a deal that may not have happened with so much confidence.
Attention now turns to this summer and the pursuit of Benfica ace Darwin Nunez. The 22-year-old Uruguayan has been a revelation in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and his form has seen him attract a clutch of potential suitors.
Reds supporters have become conditioned over the FSG era not to expect their club owners to be entering into the same kind of bidding wars that the likes of Manchester City may be willing to, and so the prospect of Nunez arriving, having already tied down a target in Diaz, may have seen slightly out of character for the US ownership. But emboldened by the impact that Diaz has had at Anfield since his arrival, and knowing that they have to do something to move the needle when it comes to the club's on-field aspirations, John Henry and Co appear to be edging closer to parting with a club record fee for Nunez.
Now, with the potential for Sadio Mane to be heading away from Anfield, the money that would come in the other direction would aid a swoop for Nunez considerably. But Liverpool have not been actively looking to sell Mane, he is a player who if the right offer did not arrive would be a Reds player again next season, and the Nunez deal has been pushed forward and not predicated on Mane exiting the club.
It is a clear sign of increased confidence from FSG on the bottom line at the club and a demonstration of just how valuable on-field success is. It is something that has been the biggest driver of revenues for FSG since they arrived at the club, and in extending the contract of Klopp until 2026 they know they have more security over the success in the next four years, meaning investing in that period on talent on the pitch will be under the stewardship of a manager they trust, respect and who has delivered above and beyond for them, provides more certainty that their investment will pay off and help deliver more on-field revenues.
It also points to the acknowledgement from FSG, under undoubted guidance from Klopp and the recruitment team, that the need to address the issue of transformation had to happen from this summer, although with Konate's arrival you can argue it began 12 months ago.
Mohamad Salah, Mane, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Thiago and Van Dijk are all either close, just over, or well into their 30s, and there is a need for Liverpool to ensure that a time doesn't arrive when they have eked the best years out of their stars and are faced with an enormous and hugely costly rebuild, potentially one that would have to be masterminded by someone other than Klopp. For an ownership organisation that loves structure, a plan and accretive growth on and off the field, that presented some concerning challenges.
Konate, Diaz and, if all goes to plan, Nunez, would get the transformation well underway and bang on schedule, integrating the new stars with the old and ensuring a smoother transition, eliminating as much risk as you possibly can when piecing together an elite football team. Add to that the arrival of Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and the pursuit of Aberdeen's Calvin Ramsey and the strategy has never been more clear.
Jude Bellingham had been a player heavily linked with a Liverpool move this summer, but with the club already committing itself to considerable spend, not having any real concerns over major departures in midfield and Borussia Dortmund pulling down the shutters on buying clubs having already lost Erling Haaland to Manchester City this summer, it is hard to think that is something that gets done. Aurelien Tchouameni's move to Real Madrid ended that rumoured interest, but the readiness to go after Nunez suggests that the focus was always on addressing the potential that a major departure could happen from the frontline and that midfield was something for further on down the line.
FSG, 12 years into their tenure at Liverpool, now know the different approaches that teams need. In baseball they have a strategy to manage their Boston Red Sox. If the team is having a bad season and is in need of a rebuild it can be bottomed out and then a concerted effort made to rebuild and push for success. The Red Sox have managed to operate cyclically in that way. That just can't be done in football, especially at a club the size of Liverpool. With the penalties for failure being worth potentially hundreds of millions, and with their rivals continuing to push year on year there is a need to find the balance of sustainable success and sustained success, and for a club like Liverpool that operates in a more traditional business-like fashion where the team effectively washes its own face, that can be incredibly challenging.
The rebuild is well underway, and the balance between sustained and sustainable success is something that FSG are pretty close to right now. They are manoeuvring to make sure they move away from a Chelsea side under new ownership and with less financial clout than they did, a club that will be run differently from the Roman Abramovich era under the US ownership of Todd Boehly's consortium, as well as a Manchester United team under a new boss in Erik ten Hag who will be willing spenders but have a completely unbalanced squad and a club void of strategy.
Whether it is enough to overcome Manchester City improving an already world-class side with the addition of world football's most coveted young footballer in Haaland, that is something that we will only find out in the fullness of time.
