The January transfer window of 2011 is one that elicits contrasting emotions for Liverpool fans. Fernando Torres departed, Luis Suarez arrived from Ajax and Andy Carroll signed for a still scarcely believable £35M.
Then-Reds director of football Damien Comolli spoke to Off The Ball's Joe Molloy today about how those deals were done and also gave his take on what will happen in this month's transfer window.
"The reason we had to do something was because Fernando Torres came to see me on January 26th and he said 'I'm off!'" said Comolli, who says he preferred to deliver players to managers as early as possible in a window.
"It was totally out of the blue so we had to react to that news. First of all we told him we didn't want to sell him but then it came to a point where he was absolutely refusing to go and play for Liverpool. So we had to do something which is why those two deals were linked in our minds. There was no way I would have signed a transfer agreement with Newcastle if we didn't have a transfer agreement signed from Chelsea guaranteeing that they would buy Torres."
The 42-year-old, who also previously worked in his native France with the likes of Monaco and Saint Etienne, says many clubs have cash to spend this month but are struggling to find the appropriate talent to spend it on.
"I expect a lot of frantic activity towards the end of the window because at some point, somebody will pay over the odds and then it will trigger some reaction on the market," he said.
Comolli also discussed how the Africa Cup of Nations impacts both players and clubs in the transfer market, using the example of the Wilfried Bony to Manchester City deal, and explained why he describes signing Lionel Messi for €250M as a "crazy deal".
He also explained why he believes the sport has been unable to produce as many elite central defenders as in the past.
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