In an ideal world, at this point in the summer, with just three weeks to go until Liverpool kicks off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on matchday one of the new Premier League season, all of Jürgen Klopp's transfer business would have been concluded.
That would not have been far off being the case had the surprise news about Fabinho and Jordan Henderson being tempted by moves to Saudi Arabia not emerged, but now, there is plenty that needs to happen again.
Liverpool still needs at least one more midfielder (almost certainly two more) and it also needs to find a left-sided defender. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were an excellent start, but with two experienced midfielders leaving, there is now another big squad gap that needs to be filled in.
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Klopp is under no illusions about that, and Liverpool will complete more transfers. The unexpected exits of Fabinho and Henderson are set to net the Reds about $67m (£52m/€60m) between them and that money will need to be reinvested.
"A few things have to happen before [the start of the new season], definitely, transfer market-wise as well," Klopp said on the We Are Liverpool podcast which was released this weekend. "That is clear now. And it will happen. New players have to come in. We will have a good team."
There is no need to panic, then. It is also important to put Liverpool's business into context with the rest of the teams around them.
So far, Manchester City has only signed Mateo Kovačić from Chelsea, and Pep Guardiola admitted a couple of days ago that he has no idea what his team will look like next season.
"We will see what we have at the end of the transfer window, which team we will have," said Guardiola. "Honestly, I didn’t think there [would be] this movement. Many things are going to happen. That’s why I cannot answer because I don’t know."
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Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte could all still leave, potentially following İlkay Gündoğan out of the door, while Riyad Mahrez is expected to depart as well. João Cancelo, who was loaned out to Bayern Munich mid-season, is in limbo. Even for a team that won it all last season, there is clearly a pressure to get a move on this time around.
Joško Gvardiol of RB Leipzig is a key target for Manchester City but so far, that deal has not been completed. Leipzig suggested earlier in the week that the club was less desperate for the money now Szoboszlai has moved to Liverpool, and even if Gvardiol was acquired, there is a big need for others to come in as well if a couple of those who could leave do end up being tempted by moves elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Chelsea is still trying to get a deal for Brighton's Moisés Caicedo over the line and Tottenham still does not know what will come next for Harry Kane, who would leave a colossal hole should his move to Bayern Munich end up happening.
At Manchester United, Erik ten Hag has added a goalkeeper and a midfielder, but is still in desperate need of more goalscoring firepower in attack to ease the burden on Marcus Rashford. The transfer window, so far this summer, has been relatively slow.
Only Arsenal has got the majority of its business done, but there is a question mark about whether Declan Rice and Kai Havertz will prove to be good value considering they cost an enormous $219m (£170m/€196m) between them. The pressure will very much be on Mikel Arteta's side next season in the context of an outlay of around $260m in total to date.
Liverpool still has work to get done before the new campaign begins, of course, and that has not changed yet. But it is hardly alone in that position. While the clock is ticking down — first towards the new season and then towards the September 1 deadline, which is now 40 days away — almost everyone else is in exactly the same boat.