An exit clause in Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool contract has resurfaced as speculation surrounding the German's future at Anfield continues after the Reds' slow start to the new season.
Klopp has been in the Liverpool hot seat since 2015, but given his side languish as low as eighth in the Premier League table - 15 points behind league-leaders Arsenal, some have started to question just how much longer he'll be at the helm in the red half of Merseyside.
Former Gunners star-turned-pundit Paul Merson laid the bulk of the blame at the door of club owners Fenway Sports Group and even warned the manager's mind may be beginning to ponder whether he has done all he can at Anfield.
"Will Klopp be thinking he's taken Liverpool as far as he can? I'm not sure, but one thing I am certain of is that it will ultimately be his decision. Liverpool have to keep him but whenever the time comes to make a decision, it will be his," he told Sky Sports.
"What Klopp has done at Liverpool, winning the league after all those years, is hard work. He has worked his socks off, he kicks every ball on the touchline. Just like players, Klopp will be getting tired, and you get more tired when you are not winning games compared to when you are winning."
It is undeniable that the drop off in form for Liverpool this season has been alarming, with Klopp overseeing just four wins from the opening 12 league games. The last two domestic outings have produced two defeats by Nottingham Forest and Leeds respectively, with the latter coming on home soil.
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Following the 2-1 home loss at Anfield, Klopp bemoaned his side's luck with injuries after being asked how the Reds can rectify the situation they find themselves in.
"We have to bring our quality onto the pitch and we fight against it," he responded. "We had problems from the first day, injury-wise. Players have had to play from the first day.
"It's our situation and it means we have to help ourselves, and that is what we will do."
The comments read with a similar kind of resilience as Klopp's recent remarks where he has tried to quash any exit talk by declaring he has no intention of turning his back on the Reds now that the going has got tough.
"My job is not only being here in the moment when the sun is shining and someone gives us a trophy," the Reds manager explained. "My job is also to be here when we are in a really rough period and I will do that, with all I have, and if possible even more — 100 per cent.
Klopp only penned an extension with Liverpool in March of this year with a deal that would see the former Borussia Dortmund man prolong his stay until the summer of 2026.
However, what has since been discovered is that there is an exit clause in that same contract that states how once the extension expires, the Reds will help oversee his return to Germany.
Klopp has previously discussed his desire to return to his home country, where the plan has always been to take a sabbatical before mulling over a return to football management.
Once, when questioned whether he'd take on the German national team job, Klopp confirmed he'd be taking a break when he replied: "If it's the end for me at Liverpool in 2024, then I'll have a year off first. Hansi Flick's contract would have to run until 2025 for me to even be considered. Nobody should call me in 2024."
It now doesn't look like it will be the end for Klopp at Anfield in 2024 given the recent extension, but regardless, when the day of his departure does come it is likely he'll be taking some rest rather than rushing into another role.
The idea of the Liverpool hierarchy facilitating his return to Germany may seem odd given that kind of help is usually only extended to an arriving manager, but such is the amount of credit in the bank Klopp has the club are clearly willing to go that extra mile in return.
It is unclear whether that clause would still be applicable if Klopp leaves before the end of his contract, but his latest rally cry would suggest that is unlikely anyway.
