What has Jurgen Klopp done as many times at Liverpool as Kenny Dalglish and Gerard Houllier, but only a third as often as Bill Shankly? Before you go rummaging around in your brainbox, a clue is that it doesn't involve silverware. Well, at least not a trophy in a tangible sense.
Congratulations, though, if you determined the answer refers to the number of times a respective manager has broken the club's post-war transfer record. A little niche, perhaps. But for some supporters, spending increasingly massive amounts can sometimes feel as impressive as watching the Reds claim another honour.
Since football restarted after the Second World War - and the recording of fees became common practice - the Liverpool transfer record has been broken on 19 separate occasions. It may be surprising, though, to discover it has become an increasingly rare occurrence.
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Between 1961 and 1991, the highest transfer fee paid by the Reds was improved on 11 times. In the 30-plus years since, that rate has slowed to just seven despite the vast amount of money washing around the game.
The rapid escalation of the highest transfer fee paid during Shankly's tenure - he broke the record six times during his 15 years in charge - can be explained in part by Liverpool's rise from second division promotion contenders to champions of England and European trophy winners.
Not that splashing the cash is a guarantee for success. Indeed, it could be argued only 12 of the 19 record buys realised their potential while at Liverpool. So, who are the chosen few?
The first was forward Albert Stubbins, who cost £13,000 when taken by Reds boss George Kay from Newcastle United in 1946. Stubbins was an instant success and helped Liverpool win the title in his first season, and became such a popular figure that he was the only footballer to feature on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It also set the tone for what was to come, with forwards representing all but four of the record purchases.
Stubbins also held the landmark for the longest period at almost 15 years. The next after that is just six-and-a-half.
Shankly spent £37,500 on Ian St John from Motherwell in 1961, the Scottish striker integral to Liverpool climbing out of the second division and going on to become an Anfield legend.
There were three more record arrivals in the late 1960s, ranging from the inspired (Emlyn Hughes, £65,000 from Blackpool), the brief (Tony Hateley, £96,000 from Chelsea) and the ill-fated Alun Evans, who became the first £100,000 teenager in the British game when moving from Wolves.
John Toshack fared a lot better after arriving from Cardiff City for £110,000 in 1970, while Shankly's parting gift was Ray Kennedy from Arsenal for £180,000 in July 1974.
Bob Paisley's three record buys all became European champions. David Johnson arrived from Ipswich Town in 1976 for £200,000, Dalglish replaced Kevin Keegan when £440,000 was handed over to Celtic in 1977, while Mark Lawrenson cost £900,000 from Brighton and Hove Albion in 1981.
Dalglish's first spell as manager saw him raise the bar into seven figures by buying Peter Beardsley from Newcastle United for £1.9m in 1987 before his successor Graeme Souness moved it on to £2.9m by signing Dean Saunders from Derby County in 1991. There was then a huge leap to Stan Collymore, taken from Nottingham Forest for £8.5m by Roy Evans in 1995.
Houllier then went beyond the £10m barrier by bringing in Emile Heskey from Leicester City for £11m in 2000 and later Djibril Cisse from Auxerre for £14.5m, although the manager had left before the latter's official arrival in July 2004.
Rafa Benitez, backed by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, spent £20.2m on Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid in 2007, while one of Fenway Sports Group's first acts was to sanction the £35m arrival of Andy Carroll from Newcastle United at the start of Dalglish's second spell in charge in January 2011.
Which brings us to the current era, with both the £43.9m spent on taking Mohamed Salah from Roma in 2017 and the £75m given to Southampton for Virgil van Dijk six months later appearing money well spent under Klopp.
But the club record fee paid for Van Dijk could soon be eclipsed.
Liverpool are interested in signing Darwin Nunez but will not make a move at any cost and have noted Benfica's asking price of a flat €100million (£85.5m). However, the Portuguese side are believed to be open to a structured deal, which would see an initial €80m (£68.4m) set fee with €20m (£17.1m) in add-ons - which would surpass the amount spent on Van Dijk.
Many thanks, as ever, to the fantastic website that is lfchistory.net for the information used in this article.
