Tiago Ilori is set to return early to Liverpool FC and cut short his season-long loan deal at Aston Villa after an unsuccessful spell in the Midlands.
The Portuguese centre-back sealed a 12-month loan move to Villa Park on deadline day in the summer, with Villa paying £1 million to secure his services and acquiring an option to buy Ilori for £6 million at the end of the season.
But the frustrated 22-year-old has since failed to make a single first-team appearance for the struggling Villans, who sit rooted to the bottom-of-the-table and 11 points from safety.
And manager Rémi Garde is understood to be considering scrapping his loan deal, with Ilori having only been in one matchday squad all season - when he was an unused substitute against Southampton.
The Frenchman is determined to free up loan space in order to bolster Villa's attacking ranks, despite them leaking 34 goals in 19 top-flight games this term and could let Ilori go later this month now that the winter transfer window has officially opened.
Ilori - who has yet to make a competitive appearance for his parent club - has only played for Villa's Under-21s since signing under previous boss Tim Sherwood, who was sacked towards the end of October.
It is the latest disappointment in what has been a miserable spell since he moved to England as a highly-rated young defender, but the Portugal U21 international will be hopeful of finding greater opportunities with the Reds after nearing full fitness.
Could Ilori's situation improve on Merseyside?
Jürgen Klopp has been pondering over whether to cut short the loan of several other Liverpool players, with Ryan Kent's stay at Coventry City terminated and Sheyi Ojo's spell at Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers currently under review.
And with precious few fit centre-backs, given that Martin Skrtel will be out for at least the first three to four weeks of the New Year, Klopp could be tempted to bring Ilori into the fold - though his lack of game time at all of his recent loan clubs could be cause for concern.
Prior to the spell at Villa, he made just 15 first-team appearances for Bordeaux in Ligue 1 last season, after just nine displays in the second-half of the 2013-14 season at La Liga's Granada.
That means that since a £7 million move from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2013 almost three years ago, he has played just 24 games at a pivotal time in his career.
For that reason, he is seen as a prime example of Klopp's predecessor Brendan Rodgers and his wasted activity in the transfer market - with many of his signings failing to make their mark at Anfield.
But Ilori, who said he was "relieved" to be in a position for regular first-team football when first joined Villa, will be desperately keen to prove to Klopp that he can prove a useful option.