To be critical of Liverpool's transfer business last summer would be to say it was a missed opportunity.
Rolling into the summer months off the back of a superlative campaign that saw them go within a whisker of completing an unprecedented quadruple while also becoming just the fourth English team to win both domestic cups in the same season, Jurgen Klopp was operating from a position of strength at the time.
The desire of Sadio Mane to seek a new challenge was a lamentable aspect but one that was handled well by all parties concerned. The Senegal star wanted to try his hand at the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich but his exit was paved without either the club or the player falling foul of supporters' ire 12 months ago.
His effective replacement Darwin Nunez was quickly secured to an initial £64m deal from Benfica as then sporting director Julian Ward flew to Lisbon to emphatically thrash out the terms with his Portuguese counterparts.
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Liverpool may yet end up paying a club record sum of £85m for Nunez if the £21m worth of add-ons are unlocked but it is understood that £75m will be a more realistic sum once he passes the required appearance-based milestones at Anfield.
Fifteen goals in his debut season on Merseyside is a more than respectable tally and the Uruguay international finished second only to Mohamed Salah in the list of the top marksmen at Anfield but there are still plenty of rough edges to smooth before Nunez is on the pathway to becoming one of the best strikers on the continent. The coming season will be a major one for the frontman, but there was enough to encourage in his maiden campaign as his first year with the Reds is assessed.
Calvin Ramsay arrived from Aberdeen to little fanfare and it's fair to suggest supporters are still waiting to see what he is all about before making a considered judgement on the young Scottish full-back.
Ramsay was impressive in the November victory over Derby County in the EFL Cup but that was the only start he made as he struggled with injuries for part of the campaign. At the age of 19, there is plenty of time on the defender's side to show what he is really about going forward.
Fabio Carvalho's situation, however, is more intriguing after a difficult first year with the Reds which owed more to the struggles of the team as a whole rather than anything the youngster was failing to do.
The former Fulham teenager started just one game after Christmas, against Wolves in the FA Cup in early January, and was restricted to one substitute appearance since the beginning of April. As a result, he is keen to secure more minutes elsewhere but the Reds are only looking to sanction a loan move.
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Carvalho was a victim of circumstances more than anything last season. The team he joined was not the same one it was during those early talks between the clubs when Liverpool marched all the way to the Champions League final after securing 92 Premier League points and lifting the FA and Carabao Cups.
That is no real fault of Carvalho, whose opportunities have been limited since the turn of the year. The move for the attacking midfielder was a low-cost gamble and at the age of 20, he still has time on his side to prove it was one worth taking, but a loan spell away from Liverpool appears almost certain now before we can truly judge either way.
So while the folly of Liverpool last summer was not necessarily the business they did conclude, it was the deals they did not. After being made aware that Aurelien Tchouameni only had eyes for Real Madrid - which was something the ECHO learned of as early as April - the decision to keep the powder dry and ignore the merits of any other midfielders was one that bit hard in the months after.
That was the real missed opportunity for Liverpool as we critique the 2022 summer window 12 months on.
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