Xherdan Shaqiri has been in this position before.
In the summer of 2014, the Swiss had grown tired of finding starts hard to come by during two trophy-laden seasons at Bayern Munich and so sought out a transfer that could guarantee him more regular football.
Liverpool were one of many clubs interested before the German champions spiked a potential departure, though they relented the following January, agreeing a deal with Inter Milan.
Unfortunately for Shaqiri, he did not find the better conditions he had hoped for in Serie A.
As he recalled at the time: “When I arrived for the summer training back in 2015, there were 50 players.
“Many of these players came back from loans and had to be re-sent on loan. From that moment I realised that it was a mess.”
Just six months later, the Switzerland international had escaped the ‘mess’ to join Stoke City in a move that resulted in three seasons’ worth of impressive, reputation-rebuilding football.
It was enough to once again pique the interest of Liverpool, whose coach Jurgen Klopp was just as keen as his predecessor Brendan Rodgers to bring Shaqiri in.
A £13million relegation release clause ensured the transfer looked to be a no-brainer for all involved.
The 27-year-old told Standard Sport in September: “I had a few options because I was really cheap! I was maybe one of the cheapest players in this crazy market.
“The good thing was Liverpool came really early. They called Stoke City and for me it was clear when they came because I wanted to work with Jurgen and I knew him a long time.
“I didn’t want to hear anything else at that moment and said let’s do this.
“It was important that the coach wanted me and he called me and said, ‘I want you in my team’. It was clear to come here to progress this club to getting better and more successful.”
While Shaqiri made something of a slow start to life at Anfield - even being substituted at half-time during one of his early starts - there was little initial concern over his future.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s experience was used at proof that things would come good, particularly with Fabinho following a similar slow-and-steady trajectory at the time.
But then Leicester came to Anfield on January 30 and earned a 1-1 draw in a game Shaqiri started - and he has rarely been seen since.
Of course, that lack of starts owes much to the incredible form of the prolific trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
However, the more concerning aspect of Shaqiri’s absence was Klopp’s steadfast reluctance to even use him from the bench.
Between a 0-0 draw at Manchester United on February 24 and a 2-0 win over Chelsea on April 14, Shaqiri picked up just 60 seconds of action, entering the fray in the 89th minute of the latter fixture.
As such, it was something of a shock to see him called upon as first sub on Saturday evening, with Liverpool’s title hopes seemingly slipping away at Newcastle.
The Swiss more than made his point at St James’ Park, teeing up fellow forgotten man Divock Origi for an 86th-minute winner that delighted his manager.
Klopp said: “It’s just brilliant. It’s like a fairytale. You can say whatever you want about me, that I don’t play them often enough, and I make this decision and it’s great that they just do it. I love it. That was really a big moment.”
Shaqiri is likely to have another chance to add to that ‘fairytale’ on Tuesday, with injuries to Salah and Firmino ruling them out of the return leg against Barcelona.
But, should the Kosovo-born forward fare well on this biggest of stages and help play a part in near-impossible comeback, it will only serve up more questions than answers.
Firstly, if Shaqiri is good enough, then why hasn’t Klopp used him to shield others against fatigue in recent weeks?
And, how can the Reds expect to add to their forward line this summer if potential signings can see just how their opportunities might be limited?
Perhaps these questions can only be answered in the coming months, when Shaqiri will either bring an unsatisfying Anfield stint to a close or commit to a fresh start next season.
But one thing is certain: that the former Basel man will not stick with the status quo - he has proven that enough times before.
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