Liverpool welcomed Dominik Szoboszlai as their second summer signing after Tottenham Hotspur unveiled James Maddison and before Manchester United signed Mason Mount.
Yes, the transfer window is firmly in gear as the Premier League's leading clubs look to reinforce their squads ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
For Liverpool, who return to pre-season training this weekend, their primary ambition will be to improve on their fifth-place finish from last time out. And to do that they may have to overhaul United, who are casting their nets out to acquire a goalkeeper plus striking options after they wrapped up the signing of Mount.
Liverpool had held talks with the Chelsea midfielder's representatives after it became clear he would not be signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge. However, the Red Devils moved in front of their rivals and wrapped up an initial £55m deal.
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It was a deal that was more expensive than the one that Tottenham, under the guise of new manager Ange Postecoglu, splashed out for Mount's England international team-mate Maddison, who completed a £40m move from relegated Leicester City.
But in terms of up-front costs, both of those transfers were bettered by Liverpool, who triggered triggered Szoboszlai's £60m release clause hours before it expired on Friday. He was then unveiled on Sunday as the club's new No.8.
Szoboszlai was predominantly deployed as a right-winger for RB Leipzig last season as they secured Champions League football, while adding the DFB Pokal to their honours list. The 22-year-old also has the capabilities to play in midfield; a department that was highlighted as a problem area for Liverpool last season.
So why did the Reds move for Szoboszlai and not Mount? And why did they have no interest in Maddison? Well, figures comparing Szoboszlai and the top additions to the Premier League's 'big-six' clubs paint a positive picture.
Statistics gathered by Betway suggest the Hungary captain outperformed several midfielders last season - including the new United arrival.
Szoboszlai scored more progressive passes, successful take-ons, higher expected goals and assists as well as more productive figures in through balls, key passes and fouls won than Mount. Szoboszlai also boasted better figures than Maddison.
He made 151 progressive passes with 79.9 per cent pass completion. And, in terms of successful take-ons, Szoboszlai scored more than 50 per cent compared to the 98 actions from Mount, with Maddison equalling Szoboszlai's 151.
Successful dribbles of the former Chelsea man were in the region of 48 per cent with ex-Leicester platmaker scoring the lower figure of 43 per cent.
With a whopping 70 key passes, Szoboszlai has a higher output than both of Liverpool's rivals' new arrivals with 40 more than Mount and just one more than Maddison,.
United could well see what they've been missing should the Hungarian feature in the December or April fixtures between the two English giants.
