As Darwin Nunez arrives through the Anfield entrance the exit of one of Liverpool's modern greats has never been so close.
Liverpool clinched a deal worth up to £85m for Nunez from Benfica, the 22-year-old striker set to be the next phase of the club's plan to cement themselves at the very highest echelon of world football. But for Sadio Mane, his Liverpool journey is close to ending, the Senegalese striker edging closer to a potential £40m deal to Bayern Munich.
Mane has been a revelation for Liverpool ever since he joined the club from Southampton in 2016 for what proved to be a snip at £34m. In all competitions he netted 120 Liverpool goals in 269 appearances, with his part in the dynamism of the front three that also included Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino key to its success.
There is a transformation happening at Anfield, however. From Ibrahima Konate, to Luis Diaz, to Nunez, Liverpool are addressing the challenges of making sure that the squad doesn't just grow old together and that a succession plan is in place for the smoothest of transitions to an era without the likes of Mane.
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But will it end with just Mane exiting? Like Mane, Salah's deal had a 2023 expiry date and despite ongoing negotiations between the Reds and their Egyptian talisman and his representatives they are yet to reach a deal. There are reasons for that, of course. Salah wants to be paid the going rate for a world-class striker in the Premier League, and given Erling Haaland is commanding a reported £375,000 per week at Manchester City then Salah, who is reported to be on around £200,000 at Anfield, may have some cause to be aggrieved at not getting the same.
But Liverpool under Fenway Sports Group have been very clear on their wage strategy, preferring to maintain cost control and certainty and attach bonuses to player contracts to reward them on the basis of individual and team success. With the Nunez deal it is the signing of a player who fits the elite bracket but whose wage demands will come in considerably lower than what the likes of Haaland is on, and what Salah may seek.
Salah looks set to be a Liverpool player next season, although questions were raised over whether Liverpool should seek to sell now in order to realise the financial benefit. But with that not looking a likely course of action it points to Salah either penning a new deal or playing out the final year of his contract and then testing the waters next summer in the market in search of what would be a bumper pay day elsewhere.
The Salah contract saga has been rumbling on for the best part of 18 months. In that time his stock has only risen and his contribution to the club become even greater as turns 30. For Liverpool, while the contract may have been a distraction for some, it hasn't been so for Salah for the most part, and that has meant that the Reds have been getting a world class performer for far less than market value for some time, and with Mane seeking a reported £350,000-plus from Bayern Munich, Liverpool have been able to achieve success with undervalued contracts ahead of their transition to a new phase.
"In Mane and Salah, Liverpool have been getting two of the world's top players at an undervalue," said Daniel Geey, renowned UK sports lawyer and author of the book 'Done Deal: An Insider's Guide to Football Contracts, Multi-Million Pound Transfers and Premier League Big Business."
"Through no new negotiations and no new deals, Liverpool have been paying far less than what they would have to pay in the market for players of that calibre. Whether that is through choice is another matter, but with the Mane deal it seems unlikely that they would have met the demands that reports suggest Mane wants from Bayern."
The Salah deal is different. His position as Liverpool's most potent attacking weapon, a genuine world class operator at the peak of his powers and his enormous commercial value mean that bending to meet what he and his representatives will see as his worth in the current climate is something that must be considered.
To pay him the same as what Haaland is on at Manchester City could potentially expose Liverpool to increased wage liabilities that they are not comfortable with. A rise from £200,000 per week to £375,000 per week, for example, would be an 88 per cent increase, an extra £9.1m per year. If you factor in new players wanting more money now that the structure has been broken, or existing players holding out for larger basic wages after the bending to meet Salah then it could quickly spiral out of control for the Reds, who have but much weight in using bonuses to pad out deals and make them more financially attractive.
"If you think back, Ferran Soriano was doing the same thing at Barcelona years ago, where two thirds would be guaranteed wages and a third bonus related," explained Geey.
"It isn't an FSG-specific thing, but it is something that they have used regularly and to great effect, although whether it helps them get where Salah wants them to be is another matter."
