Wednesday December 27, 2017 was a big day for Liverpool Football Club.
After months of speculation, and a public apology along the way, the arrival of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton was finally confirmed. It was a day that many Kopites had longed for ever since the rumours started.
It was a transfer that shook the world of football. Liverpool paying £75million for one player was unheard of.
Jurgen Klopp will have known for quite some time centre-back was a position that desperately needed strengthening. It had been Liverpool’s Achilles’ heel ever since he arrived at Anfield, and he was keen to rectify that as soon as possible.
Fast forward four years and Liverpool almost find themselves in a very similar situation.
Maybe not as desperate as before, but a necessity is there, nevertheless.
READ MORE: Liverpool told there is only one way they can sign Erling Haaland
READ MORE: Xavi first request to Barcelona board could prove a problem for Liverpool
Liverpool are already getting a sense of Deja vu from that season, with the injury situation far from ideal. It’s not quite as dramatic as last term, but it’s still enough to raise one or two concerns.
Klopp is without a handful of players across the midfield and forward areas of the pitch, both of which were seen as areas in need of further recruitment by sections of the media.
It was a decision that proved to haunt Liverpool last season when it came to not buying a centre-back, and it is in danger of doing the same again with midfield and up front.
Roberto Firmino suffered a ‘serious’ hamstring injury before the international break, while there are fresh concerns over Sadio Mane with Senegal which Liverpool will hope won't keep the forward out of action.
But in midfield, Klopp has been left with next to no breathing room in terms of selection.
James Milner, Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and Harvey Elliott are all sidelined and on the road to recovery, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Thiago Alcantara have only just returned to full fitness.
Klopp has not traditionally went down the undesired path of panic buying since arriving at Liverpool, but his stance softened last winter when the arrivals of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies were sanctioned to ease the centre-back injury crisis.
While Liverpool are not in a crisis just yet, the club would be wise to learn from past mistakes and plan accordingly. This is where Van Dijk comes in.
The whole summer saw Liverpool linked with a host of players to strengthen the forward areas, and even more so in midfield after the departure of Gini Wijnaldum.
Next summer could be the time when the club decides to sanction a move for a big-money signing in the middle of the pitch, or up front, or both.
However, given the current situation and the busy fixture list that awaits them, Liverpool should consider fast-tracking that plan by a few months.
Only those involved in the scouting and transfer process will know what targets are under serious consideration, and what money is available to spend.
Liverpool will know, though, they cannot afford to wait until the end of January to get a deal done if that’s what they decide to do.
The signing of Van Dijk was one Liverpool knew they needed to make in order to make the next step and be a Premier League title challenger.
They got the deal done early, both to avoid other clubs getting there first and to ensure they had as much time as possible for the Dutchman to make an impact.
If Liverpool have any forwards or midfielders lined up as potential targets, then they would be wise to consider making a move sooner rather than later.
Past experience should have taught them that they can’t afford to take chances when it comes to injuries, nor wait too long that they don’t have time to get who they really want.
