Jurgen Klopp is closing closer on a third midfield acquisition for Liverpool.
The Reds moved quickly this summer to sign Argentina World Cup winner Alexis MacAllister, who was quickly followed by Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai, but who will be the next to arrive at Anfield?
Nobody suggested that revamping Liverpool's midfield this summer would be easy, but almost everyone agreed that it had to be done.
After the ups and downs of last season, Reds fans went into the summer knowing that new faces were needed if lofty goals were to be achieved.
Liverpool plainly ran out of steam in 2022-23, and a successful return to the top of the league will be built on fresh legs in the middle of the field.
Alexis MacAllister's arrival early in the summer helped to alleviate fan fears about a lack of fresh entrants, but anxieties returned when no additional business was done for three weeks.
Dominik Szoboszlai is the summer's second new acquisition, with speculation already focusing on who the third midfielder could be.
Both Mac Allister and Szoboszlai provide strong offensive intent from the middle of the park, implying that the next Liverpool midfield addition will almost certainly be a more defensively focused player.
But who could it be? Here's what's going on with the names in the frame.
Manu Kone
At the start of the summer, one of the most frequently mentioned names linked with the Reds was Borussia Moenchengladbach's Kone, with the Frenchman's combative character and ability to win the ball ensuring that he ranked highly with Liverpool scouts.
Kone, 22, is the appropriate age for Liverpool and would be an excellent backup and occasional partner for Fabinho, who struggled for much of last season.
However, a knee injury suffered at this summer's European Under-21 Championships caused most of the buzz to fade, and with a mid-August comeback date suggested, Kone is being eclipsed by other, currently available prospects.
He's had bad luck, but Liverpool must be ruthless this summer.
Thuram, Khephren
For a while, you couldn't talk Kone without also mentioning Thuram, with the Nice midfielder considered as the slightly more attacking alternative and perhaps the more well-rounded of the two buddies.
Thuram, like Kone, represented France at this summer's European Under-21 Championships, and while he managed to stay fit, he was chastised by the French media following Les Bleus' 3-1 quarter-final loss to Ukraine.
Liverpool are now free to pursue a deal for the 22-year-old, but the question is if they still want him.
Any move for Thuram is now likely to see them try to adjust his position slightly to make him more of a No.6 at times, and while progress on a deal has definitely been made, that doesn't mean one will be completed.
It's a move to keep an eye on, but Nice may need to blink first in terms of the player's price or the structure of the deal they seek.
Gabri Veiga's
Veiga, an offensive midfielder who shone for Celta Vigo last season, has always felt like a backup option for Liverpool, someone they would keep an eye on as the transfer market progressed.
The availability of a release clause worth roughly 35 million meant that he was always susceptible to be snatched away, and while Chelsea has been keeping an eye on the situation, Paris Saint-Germain has surged to the front of the queue.
According to the Guardian, the French champions are now ready to sign the young Spaniard, something Liverpool is likely to be OK with now that Szoboszlai is on board.
Romeo Lavia
Throughout the summer, the remarkable young Belgian has gradually crept to the forefront.
Lavia is only 19 years old and had a fantastic debut season for Southampton after joining from Manchester City last summer. The problem is that if you are a Premier League star, you are going to command a high transfer fee.
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