As Liverpool's pursuit of Naby Keita threatens to drag on into a third month, it will be interesting to discover just how long Jurgen Klopp is prepared to wait to get his man.
RB Leipzig remain steadfast in their refusal to sell, but since Keita's return to training with the German club this week things haven't exactly gone smoothly.
Keita was the victim of a poor challenge from a teammate in training this week, and later in the session he exacted revenge on the perpetrator with an equally bad tackle that did not go down well with several of his colleagues.
Such incidents are of course fairly commonplace in club training sessions across the globe, but given the ongoing speculation surrounding his future it's only natural to wonder if there was a little more to this. Were his teammates sending him a message? Was Keita's reaction down to frustration at Leipzig turning down Liverpool's bid? Is he trying to force his way out? It might be nothing, but then again ...
That was followed up by some ill-advised remarks from Leipzig's Sporting Director, Ralf Ragnick, which have done little to improve relations between Keita's representatives and the club.
All of this would appear to be good for Liverpool, as the more Keita's relationship deteriorates with Leipzig, the higher the chances of them eventually agreeing to part with their prized asset.
It's a tough situation for the German club as Keita reportedly has a buyout clause that can be triggered next summer. They can either sell now for a massive fee, or keep a disgruntled player for another season and risk losing him anyway for a much lower price.
They may be super rich and not in need of the money, but they also need to weigh the risk of keeping an unhappy player around the camp and the detrimental effect that can have on team morale, especially if he is sulking (or hospitalising teammates!).
If no progress is made over the next couple of weeks though, will Klopp turn his attention elsewhere, or continue to wait for his man, however long it takes?
Much depends on whether Keita is a target because Liverpool are in the market for another midfielder, or if he is a target just because he's a special player that Klopp desperately wants, irrespective of the position he plays.
Naby Keita ROBERT MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images
If it's the former then it makes sense to have a contingency plan. If it's the latter -- and most signs point to that -- then there is little point splashing out on an alternative who, unlike Keita, isn't on a similar or even higher level to those already in the first eleven. As Klopp himself has often said, improving his starting options isn't easy and there aren't too many midfielders available who are as good as or better than Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho for example.
One name often mooted as a potential alternative to Keita is Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. There's no doubt he's a good player, but why would his situation at Liverpool be any different to the one he seems keen to escape at Arsenal?
Arsene Wenger uses him as a utility man; he'll play on the wing one week, in midfield the next, and sometimes he'll even find himself deployed as an attacking full-back. Look at Liverpool's starting eleven and ask yourself who Oxlade-Chamberlain could displace. He'd be decent cover for Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah on the wings, but he doesn't score enough goals to be a significant threat to the starting place of either.
Similarly, he would be a nice alternative to Lallana in a box-to-box midfield role, but would Lallana's place be under serious threat from his England colleague? No. Nathaniel Clyne wouldn't lose any sleep over his spot either.
Having a jack-of-all-trades like Oxlade-Chamberlain in the squad might be useful for Klopp, but it wouldn't strengthen his first eleven in the way that adding Keita would and that's why he is worth the wait.
If Klopp has his heart set on Keita and is otherwise happy enough with his midfield options (and another reason not to sign a squad player is that it would hinder the progress of the exciting Marko Grujic), he can afford to gamble and wait until the very last minute of the transfer window to try and get a deal done.
With Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, however, it's a little different. Klopp can be patient a while longer yet, but there will come a time when he'll have to think about moving on to alternative targets as there is no question that Liverpool are light in the central defensive position.
Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are the clear first-choice pairing but both have questionable fitness records. With Lucas Leiva having moved on and Mamadou Sakho unlikely to find any way back into Klopp's good graces, that leaves only Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez.
Klavan is a seasoned pro and will do a steady enough job, but he should be battling Gomez for the fourth spot. He should not be the third option in a rotation. So whether it's Van Dijk or someone else, Liverpool need another central defender.
Though the Dutchman seems unlikely to remain at Southampton, it's a delicate situation for Liverpool who having issued an apology and publicly ended their interest in the player, can't exactly go steaming in with a bid.
As things stand though, it certainly appears that Klopp is prepared to take his chances and wait for his main targets. That's easy to do now, at the end of July, but it won't be so easy when the deadline approaches at the end of August.
Source: espn.co.uk/football