There they were, patiently waiting, lurking in the shadows, ready for the moment to pounce. And when it came, they wasted no time in making their feelings clear.
As soon as it emerged Liverpool were seriously chasing €100million-rated Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, so came the inevitable questioning of whether the Reds really are paupers compared to the financial might of Premier League rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.
The point made by the doubters seems, at first glance, somewhat compelling. Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have already signed the most expensive defender in the world (Virgil van Dijk for £75m) and the second-most expensive goalkeeper in history (Alisson Becker in an overall package worth £65m). Should a deal for Nunez be completed anywhere near Benfica's asking price, it would put the forward into the top-four most costly Premier League captures of all time.
