It was likely to have been Tuesday of this week when Liverpool decided to change course.
After identifying Porto's Luis Diaz as a prime target for the summer transfer window, the Reds were forced to accelerate their plans after Tottenham's own interest became clear.
As news of Spurs' move for the Colombia international became public, Jurgen Klopp, Michael Edwards and Julian Ward were made to hurry along Liverpool's advances.
Tottenham, it is understood, believed they had their man. Liverpool knew they had to act.
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With Antonio Conte keen to bolster his squad for a top-four push, Spurs entered the race by making an offer around £37.4million at the beginning of the week.
With Manchester United also keeping a close eye on the developments, Liverpool were concerned that a prime summer target was about to slip through their grasp.
For a club who pride themselves on long-term planning, it would have been a tough one to take had they lost out by six months to Spurs.
That Klopp and co were able to steal a march on their market rivals owes a lot to the agents who advise Diaz and Kiko Espinar, who heads up the scouting in the regions of Spain and Portugal.
The Colombian-based representative Carlos van Strahalen and Raul Pais Da Costa, who works in Portugal, were understood to have played a vital role in ensuring it is Liverpool's emblem on the five-and-a-half-year contract that Diaz has signed.
Da Costa and Van Strahalen, alongside Espinar, were instrumental in selling the idea that Liverpool is the right club for the 25-year-old to take his next step after what has been a sensational season so far with Porto where he has scored 16 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions.
"The player's entourage were warned [of Liverpool's interest] so they decided to wait for Liverpool to make an offer and Luis wants to go," says one source familiar with how the events unfolded earlier this week.
"What is reassuring is that Klopp asked for the signing of Diaz. Luis, has everything to be one of the best Colombian footballers in history.
"Undoubtedly, this would be the most important signing of a Colombian player in history, after that of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid."
Liverpool's recruitment team have tracked Diaz for a long time and Espinar's work in particular has been cited as crucial to securing a player who could eventually cost £50m.
For the size of the club itself, the Reds' scouting network is a surprisingly small one, meaning those who keep track of players in certain regions have to have an extensive knowledge of potential players at all levels.
Espinar's detailed dossiers meant that Liverpool's operation back at the AXA Centre was kept up to date with all the relevant information needed on Diaz to swoop this week for a fee that will make him the fourth most expensive player of all time at Anfield.
Sources at the club have likened the signing to that of Diogo Jota in September 2020 in that he is viewed as someone who can come in immediately challenge for a place in the front three.
The move is not linked to anyone leaving the club in this window or the summer, although the futures of Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino remain in the air with Liverpool open to considerable offers for either before Monday's 11pm deadline.
Interest is there for both players, but the Reds are still planning for the rest of the campaign with them in their ranks, as it stands, although a sizable sum for either could tempt a late sale.
David Woodfine, who took over as the new director of loans and pathways at Liverpool when Ward was promoted to assistant sporting director in late 2020, was part of the delegation that flew to Argentina on Friday.
With the club facing a race against time to conclude the medical while Diaz was on international duty with Colombia, Woodfine and club doctor Jim Moxon departed to South America to undergo the procedures.
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It would have been a simpler process had Diaz been with his club in Porto, but Liverpool were impressed with how the Colombian FA enabled the wideman to iron out the details of his dream move before their important World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Porto are understandably disappointed to be losing a player of Diaz's importance, with one source close to the Portuguese giants stating: "All I can say is that the manager is strongly opposed to losing the player. [He was seen as] a cornerstone of their title bid and Europa League final objective."
And while Liverpool have a respectful relationship with Porto, Klopp knew his plans for a summer move could not wait once Spurs made their own bid this week.
It was described by some inside the club on Friday as a "logistical nightmare" to get out to Argentina and complete the medical before Monday's deadline and that, despite the interest from United and Spurs, was viewed as the biggest challenge facing Liverpool heading into the weekend.
However, the medical was progressing successfully on Saturday, paving the way for Diaz to secure the second biggest deal the club have ever undertaken in a January transfer window.
It's also viewed as a big feather in the cap for Ward, whose soft launch as Liverpool's sporting director starts impressively.
Insiders believe the framework that exists within the club itself means little will change once the vaunted Edwards steps aside for Ward at the end of the season.
Diaz's impending arrival - a deal that was driven by Ward - will help ease concerns of supporters who were worried about the tangible impact of Edwards' exit on the pitch.
The Colombian winger is expected to fly into Merseyside on either Thursday or Friday of this week where the new boy will be given the guided tour of the club's £50m AXA Centre.
