Liverpool became one of the most feared opponents in world football when Jurgen Klopp built his powerhouse squad at Anfield alongside former sporting director Michael Edwards more than half a decade ago, going on to dominate in every competition that faced them.
The Reds have reached three Champions League finals in the last five years, winning their first since 2005 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 final, quickly followed by the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and most importantly, the first ever Premier League title in 2020.
However, since the start of the new season late last summer, things have not been the same at Anfield, with poor performances aplenty and non-stop injury problems plaguing the side's dreams of continuing their dominance in both domestic and European football.
Not only that, a lack of reinvestment and development of key areas on the pitch has seen the club fail to keep the squad fresh, which has heavily contributed to their inability to compete with their rivals who have continued to strengthen over Liverpool's period of success.
The panic signing of Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo on Deadline Day in September 2022 set the tone for the season ahead, with FSG failing to deliver on the new and permanent midfield prospects needed after missing out on Aurelien Tchouameni following their defeat in the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Since then, the 26-year-old has been rarely seen with just 13 minutes tallied up and, for large parts of the season, has been unavailable due to a long-term injury that has left Liverpool without that extra pair of legs in the centre of the pitch that they signed up for.
The acquisition of Arthur has been met with a fair amount of criticism over the last few months and journalist Peter O'Rourke recently gave his assessment of the Anfield flop, telling Football FanCast:
"I think it's pretty fair to say it's been an unmitigated disaster, he has only played a few minutes as a sub against Napoli."
Will Liverpool sign midfielders this summer?
There is absolutely no doubt that the powerbrokers at Anfield won't be able to ignore the much-needed breath of fresh air the squad is crying out for this summer and, specifically in midfield, there will be high expectations for high-quality and hungry players who fit the profiles needed to be brought in.
Indeed, the forward line has been replenished healthily over the last few transfer windows with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo making the move to Merseyside to form the next generation of the club's famous front three alongside mainstay Mohammed Salah.
However, with several players either out of contract or in the latter stages of their careers at this point, it will be incredibly important to inject energy and fresh perspectives to ensure that this season is regarded as a blip instead of a long-term transition period that leaves them without Champions League football and even further behind their rivals.
As a result, having a strong short-list of transfer targets will be a must, with Matheus Nunes, Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Mason Mount and many more midfielders already being touted as the midfielders who could turn things around at Anfield.
FSG must in some respects abandon the strict and frugal model that has served them well in the past as the market is moving on without them and so will their targets who could easily find moves to other Premier League clubs, which only strengthens their competitors and leaves Liverpool trailing behind again.
With a move for Jude Bellingham now off the table, echoes of that failed pursuit of Tchouameni have reared their head. This time, the Liverpool owners must learn from the 'disaster' that has been Arthur and invest wisely in the playing squad this time around.
A failure to do so could well leave the Reds in trouble again next term.
