On July 3 2013, Jonjo Shelvey left Liverpool for £5 million to join Swansea City on a four-year deal. But, was this a mistake by the Reds?
When the deal went through two years ago today, there were a few moans and groans amongst the fans who viewed the player as one for the future. Yet, any questions the fans had of Brendan Rodgers, sparked by the sale of Shelvey, were answered by Liverpool's 2013-14 campaign.
As Rodgers' men stormed up the Premier League table, eventually finishing in second, the name of Shelvey was almost forgotten after a season in which Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson really made names for themselves in the middle of the park at Anfield.
However, this has now become a distant memory after the 2014-15 season saw all the hard work in the season prior simply come undone. Simple errors and inadequate replacements for world-class personnel resulted in Liverpool finishing a lacklustre sixth in the table - just two places and six points ahead of Swansea.
This summer, the Merseysiders face another replacement job too. With the unmatchable character of their captain, Steven Gerrard, leaving for an adventure in the States with LA Galaxy, Liverpool must find a player good enough to fill his shoes, and some will argue that they let this player go two years ago.
What are Shelvey's key attributes?
This is a bold statement to make, but Shelvey does possess similar qualities to his former teammate, with a real battling attitude, hunger to succeed and will to run through brick walls for his side. The player has even stressed in the past how he "tries to emmulate Steven Gerrard," and this influence can be seen in his game.
In terms of his footballing talents, Shelvey is a similar box-to-box midfielder, who carries both strength and creativity in his locker. Able to strike powerfully from distance or finish coolly having turned up in the right place at the right time, it is not difficult to see that the player has watched Gerrard growing up and views him as a role model.
Shelvey's work ethic, ability to drive forward with the ball, composure in possession and will to track back have made him a quick fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium, the supporters clearly thrilled with how much effort he puts into his performances.
However, with no disrespect to the club, it is one thing to do this at Swansea, but a completely different thing to do this at Liverpool.
Liverpool's illustrious history and high expectations present a completely different situation. They aspire to be a top four club every year, unlike the Swans, and demand much more from their players. Those in charge deemed Shelvey not good enough for this level, and they were right.
Shelvey has found his comfort zone with Swansea; a mid-table side, albeit a good one, whose current aims are simply a top half finish.
He is flourishing with them, exhibiting his creativity and clear talent for all to see. Perhaps, in a few years, he could even make a step up, with him still young and being granted plenty of playing time to aid his development, but, for now, he simply would not make it into Liverpool's team.
Could Shelvey have made it in Liverpool's star-studded midfield?
Looking at Liverpool's midfield, Shelvey would simply be wasting time away on the bench. In the season gone, he would not have got into the starting XI ahead of Gerrard, for obvious reasons, Henderson, who has come on incredibly over the last few years, or Coutinho, the man who makes the team tick.
Shelvey would be in and amongst the likes of Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic, Joe Allen and Lucas, on the fringes of the team, and he would not even make it ahead of some of these. Lallana, for example, boasts higher quality going forward, as well as a desire to track back, that would put him well ahead of the 23-year-old.
Even with Gerrard leaving this summer, Emre Can will step up and take his spot in midfield, meaning this departure would not move Shelvey any closer to a starting berth.
If Liverpool still had any possible regrets over selling him, even with these factors in mind, their worries were eased when they played Swansea at Anfield last season. The Reds welcomed Shelvey back to his former stomping ground on December 29 of last year, and their former player more or less handed them three points with an incredibly poor performance during which the occasion perhaps got to him.
An own goal and an arm swung at Emre Can, which led to retrospective action and a four-game ban, summarised Liverpool's reasons for letting him go as the Reds won 4-1.
The latter is perhaps the more notable reason for his departure; a lack of discipline. Shelvey's short temper, lack of composure and poor tackling technique saw him get far too involved with negative incidents on the pitch - see his notable his red card for Liverpool against Manchester United in 2012, for example, where he had some far from polite words for Sir Alex Ferguson as he walked towards the tunnel, having been dismissed.
Whilst this particular moment highlighted his passion, a big reason why fans love him, it also underlined his immaturity and tendency to cost him team in big games by letting the blood rush to his head. Rodgers did not look upon this favourably and, after the player failed to improve his control over his actions, he was on his way out of the club.
Liverpool could not have a player like this putting their team on the back foot frequently, and Shelvey did not have the world-class talent to justify his inclusion regardless of his actions, unlike a certain Luis Suarez.
For Shelvey, and for Swansea, the move two years ago was fantastic.
The player has the regular game time he needs to improve, whilst the club have acquired a footballer who heavily bolsters their squad. Had Shelvey remained at Liverpool until the age of 23, and then decided to leave, it is highly unlikely that he would have met the high standard of the Premier League and would have had to drop down at least to the Championship instead.
However, Liverpool played a big role in his development and have contributed a lot to producing the footballer Shelvey is today. Creative, confident and passionate, he is a player with high quality, albeit, not high enough for Anfield.