Trent Alexander-Arnold is rightfully regarded as a one-off on Merseyside. The Scouse defender has effectively refined what it means to be a full-back since his emergence at Liverpool, by proving to be different than virtually all of his peers.
As a graduate of the club's academy who is still just 23 years old, the Reds look set to benefit from his unique skill set for the next decade. As an attack-minded right-back who is his team's chief playmaker, Alexander-Arnold is as close as it gets to irreplaceable.
However, his presence in the squad is almost problematic. Alexander-Arnold is so special and still so young that it is almost impossible to find a capable deputy for him who is willing to remain on the bench for around 75% of the campaign.
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The England international is virtually guaranteed to start in the large majority of games for Liverpool, but he can't play every minute and whenever he's absent, he's replaced by James Milner or Joe Gomez, each of whom offer different qualities to him.
Despite the difficulties attached to finding a suitable backup option for Alexander-Arnold, recent links with Aberdeen's Calvin Ramsay suggest the club have identified a potential option.
At just 18 years old, Ramsay is still very much a teenager, but that is likely to be part of the reason behind Liverpool's interest in his services. Although he lacks experience, he's demonstrated a maturity beyond his years in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Rather than assuming the form of a possible world-beater, Ramsay simply appears to have a skill set which is vaguely comparable to that of Alexander-Arnold which should - in theory - allow him to perform in his place at Anfield without Jurgen Klopp having to drastically alter his system.
He's primarily been deployed as a right-back this season, but the Scot also has experience as a wing-back and even as a central midfielder, which is curious considering Alexander-Arnold's growing tendency to drift into the middle of the park.
His contributions on the ball are strong - especially his crosses - so much so that he assumes control over a number of set-pieces for Aberdeen including free-kicks and corners, which again captures his readiness for what Klopp tends to expect from Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
The backup option for the latter is Kostas Tsimikas, a player with an offensive profile who was signed from the Greek Super League in the summer of 2020. Given his status at the time, he was naturally going to jump at the chance of signing for a heavyweight such as Liverpool, even as a rotation option.
In targeting Ramsay as Alexander-Arnold's support act, the Reds would be repeating their transfer trick by chasing a full-back who is youthful, affordable, similar in type to the club's first-choice option and eager to test himself in one of Europe's top five leagues.
It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will land his signature, but with Neco Williams likely to depart in the coming months, Ramsay would reinforce Klopp's luxury of having two clones across every position.
