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Liverpool enjoyed plenty of successes last season, but among the biggest was the deal to extend Virgil van Dijk's contract by another two years.
At 34, the Dutchman remains one of the very best around, and it's hard to imagine life without him at the club. But even with the new terms in place, Liverpool will have to contemplate that reality at some point. His contract will now take him to the brink of his 36th birthday — and while nobody would bet against him still being near the top of his game by then, he cannot go on forever.
So a Van Dijk succession plan will be required at some point. For a while, most people assumed that plan was Ibrahima Konate, but the uncertainty around his contract means he could end up leaving before the captain.
Liverpool has not been idle in the face of these shifting sands. It has brought in 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni, for whom there are high hopes.
Meanwhile, it pursued Marc Guehi in the most recent window. That deal fell through on deadline day, but may yet be revived as a free transfer next summer.
Nevertheless, Richard Hughes will be on the lookout for alternative opportunities. Liverpool's depth in attacking areas looks almost unrivaled after a busy summer, but the defense certainly still needs one or two more recruits to set it up for the long haul.
Anyone christened the "next Van Dijk" is always going to be worth a look, even if precious few will ever be able to live up to such a label. And Liverpool is one of five clubs taking an interest in the next apparent big thing.
According to TeamTalk, Liverpool is "consistently circling and scouting" Aaron Bouwman. The 18-year-old defender currently represents Ajax, where he has made his first-team debut this season.
It's not too hard to see where the Van Dijk comparisons have come from, albeit with the caveat that they are absurdly premature for a teenager with a single Eredivisie appearance to his name.
The Liverpool captain himself was yet to make his senior debut at the same age, and did not make it to the Premier League until his mid-20s.
But like Van Dijk, Bouwman is an imposing physical presence at 6-foot-2.
He also boasts distribution as an important part of his game — this may well be what Liverpool misses most of all when the captain finally hangs up his boots, and it will be high up the list of desirable traits in an eventual successor.
But if Liverpool has picked Bouwman for that honor, it will need to beat some intense competition.
Manchester City, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all said to be keeping tabs as well — although with the youngster said to idolize Van Dijk, a pitch to succeed him would likely go down well.
Nor will Ajax relinquish him without a fight. While moves elsewhere are almost inevitable eventually for the talent that comes off its production line, the club is in talks with Bouwman to extend his contract in Amsterdam.
As things stand, his deal is up in 2027. If that doesn't change soon, you can expect even more suitors to join the mix.
But even if he does sign a new contract with Ajax, you can be sure that Liverpool will keep watching his development closely. At a time when the back line could be set for a significant shake-up, the teenager boasts a lot of desirable attributes.
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