Joel Matip was one of the key beneficiaries of Liverpool's swoop for Virgil van Dijk.
Before the Reds completed a £75m move for the Netherlands international, Matip struggled for consistency in the heart of the defensive unit.
His standing on the Anfield terraces was not one of unanimous admiration, but the signing of van Dijk changed all that.
The chemistry of a defensive partnership is difficult to quantify but it's fair to say that Matip looks significantly more comfortable when playing alongside van Dijk as opposed to, let's say, the recently departed Dejan Lovren.
Injuries have hampered Matip's progress somewhat and he was limited to just eight Premier League starts last season, which was a fair chunk less than the 17 he managed in the 2018/19 campaign.
Despite his lack of involvement, the former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has identified the £28.8m-rated man, per Transfermarkt, as one of the best players to pull on the red jersey in the last two seasons.
In an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT, Kirkland had this to say about the 6ft 5in colossus: "Matip was arguably the best player last season and the season before. He's been superb."
The progress Matip had made under Jurgen Klopp has been exponential.
Following a tricky opening to life at Anfield, the Cameroon international has now established himself as a trustworthy figure - when he is fit, that is - and arguably the strongest partner for van Dijk.
Injuries deprived him of the opportunity to play a starring role in Liverpool's maiden Premier League title triumph last season, but he was mightily impressive in the limited number of fixtures he did manage to play in.
In light of Liverpool's rapidly snowballing injury crisis, with Joe Gomez the latest player to suffer a significant setback, Matip will need to step up and marshal the defence with authority in the coming weeks and months.
Given what we've seen from him in the past two seasons, there's no doubt he's up to the challenge.