Luis Diaz has made quite the impact at Liverpool since joining the club in January but shortly after his high-profile capture, Jurgen Klopp attempted to sign somebody else. The Reds made a late move for Fabio Carvalho but despite their best efforts, a deal couldn't be agreed before the closure of the winter transfer window.
The Fulham attacker has featured in 19 matches since, scoring four goals while registering a further four assists. Liverpool have continued to hold an interest in acquiring his services and on Monday morning, the club officially announced his signing.
Upon reflection of Carvalho's profile while also considering Diaz's addition, Klopp could realistically opt for a change in formation much more often next season. With the homegrown youngster at Anfield, the Reds are going to have a wealth of options in the final third.
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For most of his tenure on Merseyside, Klopp has had three elite forwards at his disposal in Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. As a result, he's understandably favoured 4-3-3 as his go-to system.
However, Diaz and Diogo Jota are now part of the Liverpool squad and Carvalho is going to act as a further option, opening up the possibility of Klopp using 4-2-3-1 more frequently.
Since his emergence at Fulham, Carvalho has primarily been deployed as a no.10 by Marco Silva. Between the lines, the 19-year-old has been able to showcase his close control, technique, spatial awareness and dribbling ability at Craven Cottage.
He is well suited to Liverpool's offensive playing style and his addition makes 4-2-3-1 more of a realistic option, especially due to his preference to perform as a no.10 rather than a wide forward like Diaz, Mane, Salah and Jota.
Firmino is Klopp's only forward who appears natural as a no.10, but that is going to change with Carvalho added. It is reasonable to suggest that 4-3-3 will always remain as Klopp's fixed system, but he tends to use 4-2-3-1 when chasing a goal and when Liverpool are deemed as heavy favourites to win.
The possibility of changing formations can prove to be highly useful over the course of a full campaign and with Carvalho's future now settled, the Reds look set to become even more unpredictable next season.
After losing the Premier League title by one point on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool have already signalled their intent ahead of going one better next term.
