Liverpool was expecting to lose Brazilian midfielder Fabinho this summer, but the 29-year-old's move to Saudi Arabia is in jeopardy after dragging out longer than anticipated.
According to The Athletic, Fabinho's Al Ittihad switch could still happen but the $52m (£40m/€46m) move is in danger of collapsing and if no new progress has been made by Wednesday, the player will return to pre-season training with the Reds.
The desire for the deal to be completed is still there from all sides and the delay is not anything to do with the player's pets, as had been speculated last week, but the possibility has been opened up for the transfer not to go through.
READ MORE: Sadio Mané U-turn proves Liverpool reality as Kylian Mbappé breaks silence on Saudi Arabia bid
READ MORE:Roméo Lavia signed, Levi Colwill transfer - Jürgen Klopp's dream 38-day Liverpool checklist
There was a hint of that last week when Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg reported that Bayern Munich was waiting in the wings in case the Saudi Arabia move did not come off for Fabinho.
It could yet be the case that if his move to the Middle East does not happen, Liverpool could sanction a departure of a modern-day legend to Bayern Munich for the second successive summer.
But it might not be the worst thing for Liverpool to still have Fabinho considering that Jordan Henderson's move to the Saudi Pro League is expected to be confirmed.
Henderson and Fabinho leaving in one transfer window, in addition to James Milner, would leave Liverpool with a huge gap in experience to fill and the Reds would then need to get two more midfield bodies through the door.
if Fabinho was to stay, then a Liverpool move for Roméo Lavia could make more sense as a longer-term number six option who could then be bedded into the team slowly.
Sign up for our EXCLUSIVE Liverpool.com newsletter!
If you enjoyed this piece, you'll love our Liverpool.com newsletter — once a week, we send exclusive, bonus content only to people signed up to our mailing list!
Our newsletter subscribers get an extra slice of Liverpool.com from one of the best Liverpool FC writers around — straight to your inbox, and completely for free.
Wherever you are in the world — in the US, the UK or further afield — you don't want to miss out.
Sign up to the Liverpool.com newsletter here — it only takes a few seconds!
A move for $64m (£50m/€58m)-rated Lavia would need to be funded without that $52m Fabinho boost, but Henderson is set to net Liverpool $15m (£12m/€14m) which could go some way towards the transfer.
It is still more than possible that Fabinho and Henderson's moves both go through and Liverpool has major surgery to complete before the new season begins, as was looking likely to be the case, but keeping the Brazilian would not be the worst thing to unfold.
As has been the case for a good few days now, the best thing that Liverpool can get from this point is clarity, so that its plans can come into effect as swiftly as possible and no more disruption is caused.
There are arguments both ways, but if Fabinho ended up staying and Lavia arrived, that could possibly see the plan revert back to there being a gradual succession in that position in place. Liverpool would miss out on an unexpected $52m windfall, but would gain in other ways. The Reds either win by getting more money for Fabinho than first thought, or by having the luxury of not needing to scramble around for a replacement in a summer which has seen plenty of other changes.
It remains to be seen exactly how things fall into place, but movement and developments, clearly, are on the way. The sooner Liverpool and Fabinho know exactly where they stand, the better, as the days tick down toward the new campaign.