Should Darwin Nunez go on to become a success, Liverpool could do worse than offer their gratitude to former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre.
Back in March, Silvestre was given the task of undertaking the draw for the latter stages of the Champions League, with the Reds eagerly awaiting their next opponents.
They were paired with Benfica. And it's from here the seeds were first sown of a transfer that could eventually see Nunez become the most expensive player in Liverpool's history.
If not quite love at first sight for Jurgen Klopp, it was pretty close. Not, though, in a fashion many may have expected. While the 22-year-old Uruguayan demonstrated his wares with coolly-taken goals in both legs of the tie, it was while analysing the Portuguese side in preparation for the encounter that the Reds boss began to gain a true appreciation of the talent and potential of the forward.
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Klopp, of course, already knew about Nunez. Any leading European clubs worth their salt did. But it was during the time spent poring over videos while trying to assess how best to negate Benfica's obvious dangerman that the Liverpool manager began seriously entertaining the player as a focal point of an evolving attack.
So when it became clear Sadio Mane wanted a fresh challenge, the Reds chose to act. Time, then, for Julian Ward - taking over the reins of sporting director from the departed Michael Edwards - to take a sizeable step out of the shadows of his predecessor and deliver a first statement signing of his tenure.
As with Luis Diaz in January, Ward used his contacts in the Portuguese market built up from having previously worked in the country earlier in his career. As a number of clubs, including Manchester United, contemplated accelerating their own interest in Nunez, Ward flew to Portugal to thrash out an agreement with Benfica and stave off any rival threat. Liverpool will spend an initial £64.1million with possible add-ons taking the overall package to £85.4m. It's almost certain Virgil van Dijk's club record £75m move from Southampton will eventually be surpassed.
The capture of Nunez is a notable step away from Liverpool's approach in recent seasons of acquiring versatile forwards in the mould of Mane, Diaz and Diogo Jota. While the Uruguayan can play on the left, it's down the centre he consistently performed with Benfica and where he will be asked to operate by Liverpool. By concluding the transfer before the window officially opens for overseas signings, the Reds will now have a full pre-season to work with Nunez and shape a new-look forward line that will look to play to his strengths.
That Trent Alexander-Arnold has already expressed his approval - "How may I assist you?" he asked on social media while welcoming Nunez to Liverpool - hints at what may be to come.
There will, inevitably, be questions over Nunez's past injury record. While coming through the ranks at Penarol in his home country, the forward underwent cruciate ligament surgery aged 17 in February 2017 and, having made his debut for first team in the November of the same year, the following month had an operation on the patella of the same knee.
“I went through an ugly injury that took me a year and five months," said Nunez back in 2019. "At times I wanted to stop playing, but my family and my team-mates were always there and encouraged me to continue. I set out to do that and today I am stronger than ever."
Nunez underwent surgery on his right knee last May after a difficult first season at Benfica when he was also hampered by contracting coronavirus, but played 41 times this season including all 10 Champions League games. Liverpool's stringent medical examination - which began on Monday and continued into Tuesday - will have surely allayed any fears.
Nor should there be any worry Nunez will be affected by the possibility of becoming Liverpool's most expensive transfer. He was Almeria's most costly player when moving from Penarol, and then attracted the highest fee in Portuguese football history when joining Benfica for €24million in September 2020.
"I don't feel any added pressure at all," says Nunez. "I went to Benfica and they asked me the same question then. I don't think a player has to feel this kind of pressure, I don't feel pressured by anything or anybody."
As with January signing Diaz, who also arrived from Portugal, Nunez must overcome the language barrier. He will be aided by Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders and elite development coach Vitor Matos communicating in Portuguese at the AXA Training Centre to each other along with the Brazilian and Portuguese players in the squad. The policy helped Klopp be comfortable at signing a player who initially doesn't speak English and as a consequence may not be able to settle. The immediate success of Diaz underlines the success of the approach.
Which, as Nunez explains, is just as well. "My English is very bad," he says. "I've got to make sure I learn it quickly, without a doubt. I think it's really important that a player can speak English, because it helps you a lot in everything. But I have got one phrase: Boss tha'!"
If Nunez picks up Klopp's methods as quickly as he has the local lingo, Liverpool will be on to a winner. Thanks, in small part, to a man whose former club could be left rueing the Reds' determination to get the deal done.
