Having already seen Alexis Mac Allister arrive at the AXA Training Centre this month, Liverpool fans may be forgiven for not knowing that the transfer window actually only officially opened on Wednesday.
The fact that the Reds tied up a £35m deal for the Argentina World Cup winner less than two weeks after the season ended, however, is a neon-lit sign that a proactive approach to squad building will be undertaken this summer.
With the 24-year-old Mac Allister already secured to a five-year deal for what is hoped will be the peak period of his career, attention has turned quickly inside the club as a critical window of player trading is now officially upon them.
The short-term arrival of Jorg Schmadtke at the start of the month has seen Liverpool go in a new direction with regards to the profile of their sporting director, but the work put into the Mac Allister transfer was undertaken by previous incumbent Julian Ward alongside chief scout Barry Hunter and head of recruitment Dave Fallows and others.
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Liverpool earmarked Mac Allister as one of their key targets prior to December's World Cup and after taking the decision to step away from their efforts to try and lure Real Madrid-bound Jude Bellingham to Anfield earlier this year, the Brighton midfielder moved to the very top of the shortlist as a result.
Having travelled from Las Vegas to Miami and then to the North West of England to conclude his switch to Liverpool in the last fortnight or so, Mac Allister is now in Beijing to potentially take part in Argentina's upcoming match with Australia before a meeting with Indonesia in Jakarta on June 19.
But if the new No.10 thought his schedule was intense, it is likely to be similarly busy for those tasked with restructuring a Liverpool squad that fell to its lowest finish since 2016 just a few weeks ago.
The official handover from Ward to Schmadtke was completed upon the deal for Mac Allister and the 59-year-old German must now prove why it was he who got the nod to oversee a huge Liverpool summer ahead of other sporting directors across the continent. It represents the biggest job of his career for legendary goalkeeper Schmadtke and it's a window the club must get right.
If that is a prevailing thought process among supporters, it seems to have seeped into the playing staff too with Ibrahima Konate admitting there is work to do off the field ahead of next season.
Speaking to RMC while on international duty for France this week, Konate said: "Of course, I think everyone knows that [the squad needs rejuvenating]," Konate said. "I think the coach and those who are in charge of recruitment know that we need new players.
"I think we have four players leaving this season: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner and Firmino. We have to replace them. If we don't replace them, how do we do it? Are we understaffed and lacking quality? You can't play with young people at that level."
The need for further strengthening was also hinted at by Konate's fellow centre-back Virgil van Dijk on his own international duty as Netherlands captain. The Reds' No.4, who is expected to become the vice captain for next season, said of the Mac Allister signing: "So it is a good start to the transfer window and hopefully we get a couple of more quality additions. But he is definitely one of the players that can make a difference for us in the next couple of years."
The need for a sizable rebuild has become less shied away from by Klopp the more its need has become apparent this calendar year and the Reds boss admitted that he was hopeful of a busy post-season period in the aftermath of his team's 4-4 draw with Southampton on the final day of the Premier League campaign.
"I have a break - I don’t have training and those kinds of things - but a pretty busy period hopefully starts now as well in a different area of the game," Klopp said in clear reference to transfers. The addition of Mac Allister is a fine start but the focus remains on midfield bolstering following the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain alongside striker Roberto Firmino.
With Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota aiding Mohamed Salah in the forward department, it appears unlikely at this stage that a replacement for Firmino will be chased, especially someone of the Brazilian's seniority and experience.
Midfield, though, is a different story entirely. After completing the terms for Mac Allister's relatively modest switch, Liverpool reaffirmed why they have established a vaunted reputation for recruitment in recent years. Now they must prove it again.
Khephren Thuram of OGC Nice in Ligue 1 is under real consideration and it was interesting to hear Konate speak with such openness about links to his international colleague this week.
"I would be very happy for [Thuram] to come to Liverpool and I would take him under my wing and I would do everything for him to progress and become the player he wants to become," Konate said, before describing the midfielder as his "little brother".
Elsewhere on Liverpool's longer-than-usual shortlist are Borussia Mochengladbach's Manu Kone and Gabri Veiga of Celta Vigo, while Southampton's 19-year-old Romeo Lavia has his admirers after impressing in his maiden season in the Premier League following a move from Manchester City last year.
Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich emerged as a key target earlier this year and reports claimed in April that Liverpool met with the player's agent, Rafaella Pimenta, who also represents Thuram. One stumbling block at present is the German champions' reluctance to sell, despite Gravenberch being a peripheral figure at the Allianz Arena last season.
"There may be plans with me," Gravenberch was quoted as saying about his future this week. "I haven't really spoken to the trainer about that yet, that will come after the European Championship when I'm back from Georgia and Romania. Then we'll see how things are."
Pimenta's Instagram story of her appearing to visit the headquarters of Nice on Wednesday morning was an intriguing update as talk of a move for Thuram intensifies now the window is officially open. It is perhaps the France international who now sits at the top of that shortlist presently, although there has been an acceptance for some time at Anfield that there has to be a level of agility and fluidity towards player trading this summer.
The pool of players capable of improving the team is deeper than it has been in recent years given the paucity of their campaign last time out but a common theme among those being assessed is their general age.
At 19, Lavia is the youngest, while Thuram and Kone both turned 22 in March and May, respectively. Veiga and Gravenberch, meanwhile, are both 21. Klopp is targeting a younger player with untapped potential to grow into his Liverpool midfield for the coming years after snaring the more experienced Mac Allister to kick off the window. All will likely be part of the squads that are competing in the Under-21 European Championships this month in Romania and Georgia, with Spain yet to confirm their list.
Mason Mount had been a target for the Reds but Chelsea's unwillingness to budge under an exorbitant asking price of somewhere between £60m and £70m has left Manchester United as the front-runners, presently. The Londoners are reportedly in need of offloading some players before the end of this month, however, so the sales can be accounted for in their financial results for the year. That fact alone may mean the Reds might just remain poised for any change in those circumstances at Stamford Bridge.
That is a prospect which could also see Liverpool benefit over the interest in Levi Colwill, who has his admirers within the corridors of power at the AXA Centre. With the Reds assessing the runners and riders for a potential young defensive recruit, Colwill has plenty of upside. The 20-year-old played 16 times for a Brighton side who finished their campaign by qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in their history last term and his left-sided capabilities have captured interest.
However, with Brighton also seeing bids of £30m reportedly rejected by Chelsea and the fact that the Londoners are likely unwilling to sell to a major Premier League rival, there are several hoops that will need jumping through if the Reds are keen to land Colwill.
With the window officially open, it promises to be a fascinating period for Liverpool and it will have a major say on how robust the bounce back is after a season to forget.
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