In January of 2021 there was understandable anger around Liverpool's lack of activity in the transfer window.
A season that was threatening to go off the rails, a defensive injury crisis that left Jurgen Klopp reliant on fringe and youth players such as Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams and Neco Williams, and the additions of two defensive back up options for the combined sum of around £3m in Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak did little to aid the mood among the Anfield faithful.
Klopp and his squad managed to drag themselves over the line to finish third after a fine end to the season, but they were well off the Liverpool side that had taken on all comers to lift the Premier League crown in 2020.
But as the January 2022 window closed, with the pandemic's impact waning thanks to a successful vaccination programme that allowed for fans to return to stadiums and revenues to start to funnel back into football clubs, teams were more emboldened to spend.
READ MORE: Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale says Liverpool star is 'so aggressive'
READ MORE: Michael Owen puzzled by Liverpool snub as he makes Man City claim
There wasn't much expectation that Liverpool would add to their ranks during the January window, but as the deadline approached, and having been alerted that Tottenham Hotspur were ready to make a deal for Luis Diaz, a player who was top of Klopp's summer wish list, the green light was given by Reds owners Fenway Sports Group, with Liverpool striking a deal that could potentially be worth up to £49m for the Colombian attacker.
FSG had acknowledged Diaz's former club Porto's desperate need for funds to meet debt obligations and had provided and immediate tranche of funding, a move that was enough to see Liverpool land Diaz and make their move early.
Already the signs have been enormously encouraging.
It can take a while for players to settle into the Premier League. But for Diaz he looks every inch a player that will operate for many years at a world class level, and even though it's been little more than a month since he arrived he already looks a snip at that potential £49m. It's hard to think of too many players who have come in and looked so comfortable and in sync with their teammates in such a short space of time.
For Liverpool, Diaz's arrival has given them extra impetus in the Premier League title race. Not too long ago Manchester City were seen to be too far ahead of the pack, but Liverpool have been relentless in their pursuit of Pep Guardiola's side and are very much in a title battle with City.
Unlike the previous January, where Liverpool sought to just plug a gap cost effectively, this January's transfer window was conducted with an eye on the future and aiding their efforts both in the short and longer term. Diaz is impacting Liverpool's title challenge and having been added to the Champions League squad for the knockout stages at the start of February, is also aiding their efforts in Europe.
Success on the pitch underpins what Liverpool can do off it, and vice versa. The Reds are a club that has washed its own face financially for some time now, which is something of a rarity at the elite level of European football. The signing of Diaz is an investment into growing that success and, ergo, delivering more revenues through prize money that will go a long way to paying off his own transfer fee.
For so long the focus has always been on the summer transfer window as being the most crucial, with the January window seen as more a chance for clubs to rectify mistakes, with clubs not keen to sell their best players in the middle of a season.
But with Liverpool changing their approach this past January and landing one of their summer priorities, could there be a switch in focus onto a January window? Andrea Sartori, global head of sports for KPMG's Football Benchmark, believes so.
"I think that in the years to come the winter transfer windows will become more and more important, especially when compared to five or six years ago," Sartori told Sky Italia.
"Clubs try to fix potential mistakes made in the summer window in order to achieve their sporting goals, which is also fundamental to be able to increase their revenues and consolidate their economic power.
"This concept is valid for both clubs fighting to avoid relegation and for clubs competing to achieve a UEFA competition slot."
