An unwelcome accumulation of midfield injuries forced Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp to abandon their plans to stay patient in the transfer market.
Those circumstances led to a deadline day swoop for Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo, but there are already signs that the the last-gasp move to bring the Brazilian to Anfield was an ill-judged one, with reports claiming that Klopp is toying with the idea of terminating the midfielder's season-long loan deal in January.
Regardless of whether or not Arthur stays or goes in the New Year, Liverpool have some big decisions to make with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both due to become free agents next summer.
With both currently expected to depart, the plan, if it is feasible, appears to be for Liverpool to bid their time until next summer, where they will attempt to pull out all the stops in a bid to prise Jude Bellingham away from Borussia Dortmund.
However, it's highly likely that there will be opportunities for the Reds to pursue other targets in the winter window - including Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge. The Norwegian star, who made a big impression in the Premier League with the Blades before they dropped into the second tier, was heavily linked with a return to the top-flight during the summer and both Chelsea and Liverpool were believed to be interested in acquiring his services.
And although a move failed to materialise, he confirmed that there was "concrete interest" from some of England's big-hitters. He told TV2 while on international duty with Norway this week: “There was a lot of interest, concrete interest, you weighed things up a bit, it had to work out for both the club and me, and it didn’t happen."
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Berge then went on to talk down potential links to Liverpool, but after a last-gasp move to Club Brugge collapsed on deadline day, the Reds could rekindle their interest in Berge or other midfield targets if Arthur fails to win Klopp over in the coming months.
But as talented as Berge is, the 24-year-old is not in the same stratosphere as Bellingham - if Liverpool can afford to keep their powder dry in January, then they should.
A patient approach in the transfer market has become a hallmark of the FSG era and the club have reaped the dividends before; Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker are just two examples that immediately spring to mind.
But as impressive as they have been, Bellingham has the scope to become the Reds' biggest coup of all. And given that there is unlikely to be anybody of a similar calibre available in January, he is still well worth waiting for.
