Last season was an enthralling one for Liverpool.
With Jurgen Klopp at the helm, he helped inspire his team to a very first Premier League title.
The Reds had to wait far too long to end their domestic drought but while they were celebrating, few would have expected what has followed in 2020/21.
The Merseysiders are still performing admirably and heading into the international break they are just a point from the top of the table.
However, their treatment table is now being crammed full of some of their very best players.
Virgil van Dijk is out for the rest of the season while Trent Alexander-Arnold could miss the next month with a calf problem picked up against Manchester City.
Since that game, it has gone from bad to worse. Joe Gomez seriously injured his knee on England duty and is now facing a race against time to be fit for the European Championships. Mo Salah, meanwhile, has tested positive for COVID-19 while away with Egypt.
He could miss up to two weeks depending on when he next tests negative but with all of these injuries, Klopp will be crying out for the transfer window to open.
The German will have to wait another six weeks until it does but with defensive problems mounting, that will surely be his biggest priority.
Daryl Janmaat and Dayot Upemacano have both been linked this week but now there is a fresh target in mind for Liverpool - Nuno Mendes.
A report from Portuguese newspaper Record (via Sport Witness), suggest that the Reds are interested in bringing the 18-year-old to England from Sporting Lisbon.
The left-back is also on the radar of Manchester United and Real Madrid.
At present, Sporting are trying to tie Mendes down to a new contract, a deal that would see his release clause increase to a considerable £62m. Michael Edwards will need to get a sizeable cheque written out.
GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...
Liverpool only signed Kostas Tsimikas last summer, but it appears as though Klopp isn't overly satisfied with his options in that part of the pitch.
Even if Tsimikas has yet to prove himself at Anfield, when a player like Mendes ends up in your crosshairs, it's incredibly difficult to say no.
The teenager is one of the most promising young full-backs in world football and has the flair to match some of the very best on the planet.
Adept defensively, it's with the ball in possession that we really see his great potential.
The player was first spotted by his school teacher Bruno Botelho at the age of nine, someone who waxed lyrical about the youngster to Goal.
"We did a one-on-one exercise against the goalkeeper to see where he was strong," he began.
"Nuno lifted the ball over the goalkeeper with a 'cabrito' (rainbow flick), and scored with a no-look finish like Ronaldinho used to do," Botelho concluded.
Of course, Mendes doesn't produce those types of skills as often now he's a professional but it's a fascinating eye-opener into the type of player he is.
So far this term, he has played nine times for Sporting, scoring one goal in the process.