No one would argue that Liverpool are yet to see the very best of Thiago Alcantara, but there have been enough signs this season to suggest that the Spaniard can still come good - not least at the weekend against West Brom.
Signed from Bayern Munich last summer, Thiago scored his first Liverpool goal in the recent 2-0 win over Southampton, and has since played a vital role in wins against Manchester United and the Baggies.
Thiago dominated proceedings against West Brom, completing 91 per cent of his passes and creating five chances for his teammates.
No player on the pitch had as many touches as he did - most on Liverpool's team barely reached half that figure - and Thiago had 18 more touches than the influential Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool's other important creative hub.
Thiago's goal against Southampton was a vital one, but goals were not what he was brought to Anfield to provide; he was an addition designed to supplement and evolve the options already at Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool's disposal.
Without key men like Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson around him for the majority of the time, however, Thiago's role in the team has been altered.
"Against Newcastle, he played really well and dominated the game but then got substituted," said Josh Williams on the Analysing Anfield podcast.
"Then against Southampton, he played OK but found the back of the net. Since then, he has been excellent, so hopefully for the final two games, he can remain a prominent figure.
"He reminds me of an old Johan Cruyff quote where he was getting interviewed and said something like 'in this space I'm in, I'm the best in the world, but if you make me manage this whole garden on my own, I'm the worst defender in the world'.
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"Thiago, this season, has been bypassed and forced to make fouls and that has stemmed from basically Liverpool's system being less cohesive and easier to press through.
"That did not happen last season and it is not something I think will continue next season as they get defensively better and get a few players back.
"Their pressing will get a bit of a boost as a result and this season of all seasons has been a terrible time for Thiago to transition from German to English football.
"He is also yet to play in Liverpool's best team. The closest he got to it was at Goodison Park against Everton but even then, Adrian was in goal.
"That was the only time he played with Van Dijk from the start and that lasted about 10 minutes because Van Dijk left the pitch.
"It is quite incredible and it is hard to give him a fair analysis of his performances because of how different Liverpool have been compared to the Liverpool that Thiago was meant to be joining."
Defensively, Thiago has been questioned at times, and rightly so. He is committing more fouls per 90 minutes this season than any other Liverpool player and opponents have sometimes found it too easy to play around him.
But that was never meant to be his job, and once those whose job it is to do that are in the team regularly again, then he will be given the platform to showcase the reasons he was signed even more frequently.
"Thiago can press quite well when that is structured around him," added David Hughes.
"But if you are leaving him to do that work on his own, it is not as if he has an abundance of pace.
"He can be made to look more of a fool that he is in those moments, but it has not always been as cohesive as we thought.
"The idea at the start of the campaign was going to be another really dominant season before players were lost and he has been caught cold by that, and he has been injured as well."
It might not have clicked into place entirely just yet for Thiago - but with Van Dijk and co around him, it should be a very different version of the midfielder that Liverpool get to see.
The late signs against Southampton, Manchester United and West Brom have only been a tantalising glimpse of his true worth - but even they have whet the appetite enough.
