The arrival of Cody Gakpo at the start of January has coincided with a return to the substitutes' bench for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Having started three games in a row for Liverpool following the resumption of Premier League football after Christmas, Oxlade-Chamberlain's versatility was firmly counting in his favour as he was selected on the left of Jurgen Klopp's attack.
Back-to-back victories against Aston Villa and Leicester in the closing stages of 2022 hinted at a brighter, more positive time ahead for the Reds after a largely frustrating first half of the campaign but despite a goal at Brentford in early January, it's been a disappointing calendar year on the whole so far for both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Liverpool.
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After Gakpo was cleared to make his debut for the Wolves game in the FA Cup on January 7, Oxlade-Chamberlain has found himself mainly on the sidelines. After deputising for an unfit Darwin Nunez in the 3-0 loss at Brighton, the former Arsenal man has since found himself kicking his heels on the bench having played just five minutes of football since that miserable afternoon on the south coast over a month ago.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was not involved at all for Monday's 2-0 win over Everton, perhaps offering more than a hint to his current standing his this Liverpool squad. The respective comebacks of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino meant Klopp had ample coverage for the forward areas, while the ongoing development of Stefan Bajcetic has added to the difficulties of breaking into the Liverpool midfield for Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Now well inside the final few months of his Liverpool deal, all things appear to be pointing towards another high-profile departure as a free agent. It's something that has become relatively commonplace in recent years following the exits of Emre Can, Gini Wijnaldum and most recently Loris Karius.
For Oxlade-Chamberlain himself, a desire for his young son to see him operating at the top level is a motivating factor that could yet hold sway when it comes to deciding his long-term future in football.
He says: "I'm getting to that stage of my career now where I'm not a kid anymore and I just want to stay at the top for as long as I can. I suppose [fatherhood has changed me] a little bit, yes because you're doing it for more than yourself at the point when you have a child and become a father.
"A big motivation for me is trying to stay at a really good level for as long as possible so that my boy can see me at that level. My dad did it but he didn't have me until he was 32. So by the time he was 35, well, he was clinging on by that point! My football memories of him being a superstar are mainly from the old Masters football (indoor tournaments).
"I'm 29 now and my son is coming up towards two, so he should be able to remember me as a Premier League player and it gives you that little bit of motivation to stay at that level and make your son proud. Hopefully I can try that and do that for him. I guess it's a new-found motivation in that way."
It's expected that Liverpool's midfield department will undergo something of a major overhaul later this summer. With the club still set on trying to lure Jude Bellingham to Anfield and Matheus Nunes of Wolves also a transfer target, Klopp is tasked with renovating his engine room this summer and revitalising a squad that has looked laboured in recent months.
With Naby Keita and James Milner also into the final few months of their own contracts, there is much to resolve for Liverpool's recruitment department, one way or another. For Oxlade-Chamberlain, the sheer amount of work needed to adequately restructure the centre of the park could lead to a quiet exit and the well wishes of a team who he helped lift every top-level trophy in football between 2019-2022.
"It's a tough one because I've had such good times here and on one hand you could say I've won every domestic trophy, the FA Cup four times now luckily enough and the League Cup last year - that was the one I hadn't got," he adds in a chat with the club's official programme.
"So in that regard I'm very happy but every time you step on to that pitch and enter a competition, you want to win it again. On a personal note I just want to play at the best level for as long as possible."
With Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajcetic and Harvey Elliott providing Liverpool with options for the long term, the likes of Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and 37-year-old Milner all at the other end of their careers and Keita and Fabinho providing Klopp with respective issues to wrestle with over contracts and form, there is much to ponder where the centre of the park is concerned going forward.
Where Oxlade-Chamberlain fits in at Liverpool beyond the end of this season is becoming more difficult to envision as a result. A parting of the ways feels inevitable.
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