It's fair to suggest Liverpool had not been anticipating significant interest in Thiago Alcantatra this summer.
The decision was taken to bring forward the midfielder's plans for surgery on a hip problem primarily so he could be declared fit in time for the beginning of the pre-season schedule.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder had been dogged by a persistent hip complaint since the turn of the year and was forced to miss the final four games of the Premier League season as a result.
Between February and April, Thiago sat out 10 matches in total before returning as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Easter Sunday. His comeback consisted of just four substitute appearances, lasting a total of 96 minutes, before the decision to go under the knife to correct what had become a long-standing complaint was made in early May.
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With plans of a midfield rebuild starting to take shape, the hope had been to welcome back Thiago into something of a new-look engine room by the time the summer schedule began.
And with the Reds due back to training for the infamously punishing day one of pre-season on Saturday at the AXA Training Centre, that is still very much the idea. In Liverpool's eyes, at least.
However, reports of emerging interest from the Saudi Pro League have surfaced around the same time he was also being linked to Turkish outfit Fenerbahce.
Liverpool insist no such offer has reached the offices of the AXA Centre as things stands but reports have claimed a lucrative proposal from Saudi Arabia has been made directly to Thiago's camp.
The Athletic claim the offer was turned down as he insisted he intends to stay put at Anfield, but with the former Spain international now into the final year of his contract at the age of 32, there is some merit in the removal of a high-earning, ageing and injury-plagued midfielder to make way for a new generation that will be seemingly led by the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
As one of the highest earners at the club, his general availability can be viewed as an issue. In his three seasons to date, Thiago has never made more than 25 Premier League appearances and featured just 18 times in the division last term.
He is still three short of a century of Liverpool appearances during a three-term timeframe that has seen Fabinho turn out 146 times and captain Jordan Henderson 128. That, alongside his reported £200,000-a-week wages, is the key issue.
But having significantly reduced the bottom line through the exits of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner and Arthur - a collective save of over £500,000 a week - Liverpool have plenty of room to breathe where their wage bill is concerned, even factoring in the arrivals of Mac Allister and Szobozslai.
The exciting additions of those two will inevitably mean the overreliance on Thiago can be eased considerably next season, which will only help him sidestep any future injury issues. The term 'luxury player' is rarely complimentary in football but the Reds' No.6 may just become that for the coming campaign, sprinkling in his undoubted brilliance at key junctures rather than running him into the ground before the inevitable muscle twang.
At his majestic best, there are few midfielders in Europe capable of matching what Thiago can do. There was a reason Liverpool totally altered their transfer strategy in 2020 when an opportunity to bring him from Bayern Munich became apparent. And with the Reds gearing up for a new dawn as far as their midfield ranks are concerned, he still can have a vital part to play.
Thiago is surely more valuable to Klopp for what he is able to contribute for the coming campaign when used sparingly than he would be if it was decided that the club should cash in on a 32-year-old in the last year of his contract, regardless of how much an additional premium Liverpool can place on the terms of negotiations with a Saudi Pro League club.
During a summer that has so far revolved around the desperate need to rebuild the midfield department, offloading Thiago would feel like a backwards step, a counterproductive pin to the ballooning optimism that has grown since the end of the season.
