Liverpool have torn up their regular January transfer window script to leave them on the verge of a big-money swoop for Luis Diaz - a deal which could have far-reaching consequences for their established forwards..
The Reds have agreed a £50million fee to sign the Porto star, beating Premier League rivals Manchester United and Tottenham to his signature.
The deal will comprise an initial sum of £37.5million with a further £12.5million in add-ons, meaning Liverpool are landing the player for much lower than his €80million (£67m) release clause.
It may well prove to be the first transfer masterstroke pulled off by Anfield assistant director Julian Ward, who led negotiations and will take over from Michael Edwards as sporting director this summer.
The transfer also leaves the futures of Liverpool's traditional front three firmly in the spotlight as they approach the final years of their contracts.
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Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino will be free to depart Merseyside in the summer of 2023, by which time they will all be in their early 30s.
Liverpool's plan to rejuvenate their attack has been unclear in recent months. While Salah's drawn-out contract negotiations have been the subject of intense speculation, Mane and Firmino's situations have received far less attention.
Of course, the club may have planned to simply agree new terms with all three players and continue with their attack in its current form, supported by the likes of Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino.
But their marquee pursuit of Diaz is the biggest hint yet that Liverpool are planning for life without at least one member of the attacking trio first assembled in 2017.
The Colombia international turned 25 earlier in January, so he is far younger than Salah, Mane and Firmino, while he has an eye-catching 16 goals and six assists in 28 games this season.
His expected arrival in Jurgen Klopp's squad could be of particular concern for Mane, who turns 30 in April, because they both play as left-wingers who like to cut infield onto their stronger right foot.
The Senegal ace has been a loyal servant for Liverpool since joining from Southampton in 2016, but his scoring numbers have been on a steady decline since his blistering 26-goal 2018/19 campaign.
While Mane has netted 10 times this season and remains unplayable when at his best, he has just one goal in his last 10 club appearances.
Klopp is famously loyal to his players, so it would be uncharacteristically-ruthless to bring in a new winger and simply cast Mane aside.
However, there is no denying Diaz's signing puts Anfield chiefs firmly in the driving seat when the time comes for contract renewal talks with Mane's representatives.
Whereas Salah is viewed as irreplaceable due to his sustained world-class brilliance for many seasons, the same is not necessarily true when it comes his teammates.
Mane may feel aggrieved about a high-profile addition coming to rival him for his spot in the side, and this would be justified given his excellent tally of 107 goals in 244 appearances for Liverpool.
He can either respond to the Diaz transfer with a chip on his shoulder, or use it to rekindle his best form and prove to the Liverpool hierarchy he still has many years remaining at the highest level.
