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So it's entirely understandable to see supporters beginning to whet their appetite at the thought of Florian Wirtz arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a sum that could even break the British transfer record itself.

The Reds, as has been extensively covered on the ECHO's pages, are in high-level talks with Leverkusen to potentially make the Germany international the costliest player ever on Merseyside.

A club-record deal doesn't always equate to instant success but these players certainly lived up to their billing.



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Had Liverpool got their way, Virgil van Dijk would have arrived at Anfield much sooner and a lot cheaper.

But after repairing relations with Southampton in the second half of 2017, after being threatened to be reported for tapping up the Dutchman in the summer of that year, a blockbuster £75m deal was struck at the start of 2018.

And while fans might have had to wait for the big man, he has been worth every penny since.

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Van Dijk was signed to tighten up a leaky defence under Jurgen Klopp and there was plenty of excitement upon his arrival after a long pursuit to bring him in.

And the centre-half has exceeded all expectations during his time on Merseyside.

The No.4 was as close to a transformational signing as is possible in the modern era and having lost Philippe Coutinho in the same month of January 2018, the Reds didn't miss a beat and instead surged their way to a Champions League final before winning the thing itself the following year in Madrid.

The Premier League was then ticked off in 2020 as the Reds ended their 30-year wait for title No.19 and Van Dijk, en route to that historic success, finished second in the Ballon d'Or rankings, pipped only by a certain Lionel Messi.

Stick a partner - any partner - next to Van Dijk and he has inspired career-level performances from them.

The Reds had been taken over by Tom Hicks and George Gillett the previous February, and while it would not take long for their Anfield ownership to become a farce, back then they were determined to send out a statement in their first transfer window in charge.

Beaten Champions League finalists that year, the Reds wanted to move to the next level under Rafa Benitez.

For Liverpool to land his signature in a record £20m deal was definitely a transfer coup.

Signing Torres from Atletico Madrid was the most high-profile Reds transfer in years.

They were knocked out by Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals in his first season, and finished runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League in his second campaign before things started to fall apart under Hicks and Gillett.

Injuries would also take their toll on the forward, before he eventually left in unceremonious circumstances to join Chelsea in a record £50m deal in January 2011 having never won any silverware at Anfield.
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