Jurgen Klopp has made no secret of his reluctance to enter the transfer market in January throughout his time with Liverpool.
In fact, the German has only made eight signings in the winter window since his appointment in October 2015, with only three of those who joined remaining at Anfield to this day.
A glance at Liverpool's January dealings under Klopp goes some way to explaining his opposition to recruitment midway through the campaign.
Without the benefits of a full pre-season to adapt to their new manager's methods, players arriving on Merseyside in January have rarely made a significant impact during the run-in.
There is, of course, one major exception to this rule in the form of Virgil van Dijk, who tore up the script with his club-record transfer.
Without further ado, here are the eight January signings Klopp has made as Liverpool boss.
Marko Grujic
Date: 6 January 2016
Brought from: Red Star Belgrade
Fee: £5.1million
The midfielder was linked with a host of European giants before giving in to Klopp's approaches and signing a five-year contract to become the first signing of the German's reign.
Zeljko Buvac, then assistant manager, jetted out to Serbia to convince Grujic to move to Anfield over the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and many others.
Liverpool immediately loaned the 19-year-old back to Red Star Belgrade, setting the tone for his time on the Reds' books, which involved temporary spells with Cardiff City and Hertha Berlin.
Grujic would only make 16 appearances for Liverpool before joining Porto in a £10.5million transfer last summer having spent the 2020/21 season on loan with the Portuguese giants.
Did Marko Grujic deserve more opportunities at Liverpool? Have your say in the comments...
Kamil Grabara
Date: 6 January 2016
Brought from: Ruch Chorzow
Fee: £250,000
Another teenager joined Liverpool early in the January window of 2016 as 16-year-old Grabara signed for a minor sum.
The Polish goalkeeper had trials with Manchester United and Manchester City before putting pen to paper with the Reds.
Grabara never made a senior appearance for Liverpool and joined Copenhagen in a £3million transfer last summer following two loan spells with Danish club AGF either side of a season at Huddersfield Town.
Steven Caulker
Date: 12 January 2016
Loaned from: Queens Park Rangers
The sight of Caulker being used as an auxiliary striker is one Liverpool fans continue to joke about to this day, but the Sierra Leone international was initially drafted in as emergency centre-back cover.
Klopp was forced to enter the market as Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren were injured and Mamadou Sakho was short of fitness, with QPR cancelling Caulker's loan at Southampton so he could join the Reds.
He made a total of four appearances during his brief stint on Merseyside, coming off the bench as a target man against Arsenal, Manchester United and Norwich.
Virgil van Dijk
Date: 27 December 2017
Brought from: Southampton
Fee: £75million
Having made no signings in the winter window in the 2016/17 season, Klopp sanctioned one the defining transfers of his reign the following campaign.
As Philippe Coutinho edged closer to joining Barcelona for £142million, Liverpool wasted no time reinvesting those funds and signed Virgil van Dijk for a club-record sum.
The 30-year-old, previously the subject of an alleged illegal approach by the Reds, would go on to become one of the best centre-backs in the world under Klopp's tutelage.
Van Dijk helped Liverpool finish as runners-up in the 2018 Champions League and go one better the following year, while he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year for the 2018/19 campaign.
He then marshalled the Reds to the Premier League title in the 2019/20 season, ending the club's 30-year wait for a league title.
The Dutchman suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury last campaign but he has been back to his best in the current term.
Takumi Minamino
Date: 17 December 2019
Brought from: Red Bull Salzburg
Fee: £7.25million
After another one-year hiatus from the January transfer window, Liverpool activated Minamino's attractive release clause midway through their title-winning campaign.
The Japan international failed to the find the back of the net during the triumphant run-in and spent the second half of last season on loan at Southampton.
There were serious questions over whether he would make the grade at Anfield, but Minamino is enjoying is already enjoying his best season for the Reds with six goals in 16 games for the current campaign.
His most-recent strike came against Brentford on Sunday as he looks to impress in the absence of Africa Cup of Nations participants Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Ozan Kabak
Date: 1 February 2021
Loaned from: Schalke
Liverpool may have had injury issues when they signed Caulker, but they did not compare to the crisis which engulfed Anfield last season.
With Van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out for the season and Joel Matip soon following them to the treatment room, Klopp had been using Jordan Henderson as a makeshift centre-back to get by.
"I am not a five-year-old kid any more and if I don’t get what I want I start crying," the manager said in late January 2021 when asked if his side would be signing defenders to address their glaring issues.
The Reds finally took action on Deadline Day as Kabak joined on loan until the end of the season, and the Turkey international would go on to make 13 appearances for the club.
However, the 21-year-old did not do enough to convince Liverpool to sign him permanently for an initial £18million, so he returned to Schalke and was loaned to Norwich ahead of the current campaign.
Ben Davies
Date: 1 February 2021
Brought from: Preston North End
Fee: £1.6million
The other centre-back rushed through the door on Deadline Day last season, Davies joined from Championship side Preston in a cut-price deal.
The 26-year-old is still awaiting his first competitive appearance having warmed the bench on numerous occasions in the Premier League and Champions League.
Davies returned to the second tier on loan last August by penning a season-long loan deal with Sheffield United.
Kaide Gordon
Date: 5 February 2021
Brought from: Derby County
Fee: £3milllion
The 17-year-old is already looking like one of Liverpool's better winter window buys of recent years after bursting onto the scene this season.
Gordon, a versatile attacker, became the Reds' second-youngest goalscorer by netting against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup this month in what was just his third senior appearance at club level.
He joined last year from boyhood club Derby and the Rams received a compensation fee of £1million rising to £3million with add-ons. which could prove to be a bargain.
