When Jürgen Klopp hinted at dipping into the transfer market in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool's 1-0 win over Stoke City a week ago, links with various defenders from across Europe intensified massively.
That night, Dejan Lovren went off injured clutching his hamstring with Lucas Leiva - a natural defensive midfielder - forced to drop into his place before Kolo Touré appeared to be nursing cramp in a similar area late on. Philippe Coutinho, and later Jordon Ibe, also succumbed to injuries on the same evening. It left Klopp's injury-stricken squad with few options from front-to-back and with as many as 13 senior absentees.
Having insisted he wasn't planning to strengthen the squad with any January additions, the Reds boss was forced to change his tone. He told reporters at the Britannia Stadium just that. "It is something we could look at," he said when asked about the possibility of some squad-bolstering transfers, adding that they "cannot ignore the injuries" they're facing.
His renewed approach was shown when he recalled Tiago Ilori from an unsuccessful loan spell at Aston Villa to give him his first-team debut more than two years after first joining and paired him in defence with Jose Enrique, an outcasted full-back who hadn't played for the first-team in over 12 months, for their FA Cup third round tie at Exeter City.
Some perceived it as disrespect to the competition and their lower league opponents, thinking Klopp had assumed their second, or even third, string would still be able to breeze past them, but the truth was closer to the fact that Klopp was just that desperate.
Just four days later and he has made his first defensive signing of the window, though it's not a name many were expecting. The likes of Neven Subotić, from his former club Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan's Andrea Ranocchia, were just two of the names linked with a temporary move. Joel Matip, of Schalke, another name touted. The player they announced earlier on Tuesday? Queens Park Rangers' centre-back Steven Caulker.
The name, alone, is enough for some to cast the signing as a write-off from the start. Considering he went on loan to Southampton, who are currently struggling in 13th with just six wins from 20 games, and only made three top-flight appearances - what qualifies him as good enough to play for Liverpool? That's without mentioning that his last appearance was, coincidentally, in the Saints' humiliating 6-1 loss at the hands of Klopp's Liverpool in the League Cup on December 2, though it would be unfair to try to scapegoat the entire result on his performance.
On the face of it, it's not exactly the most eye-catching, or earth-shattering, transfer - with many suggesting it is the kind of move their previous manager, Brendan Rodgers, who became renowned for wasting owners Fenway Sports Group's money on ill-equipped signings, would make. But is that actually doing a disservice to Caulker?
Defender not the name fans were hoping for
For Liverpool fans who were hoping Klopp's arrival would see them go up a notch in the transfer market, particularly given recent links with the likes of Leroy Sane, Mario Götze, Mats Hummels and even more absurdly, Toni Kroos, to name a few - Caulker is immediately disappointing. He just doesn't have that star-studded appeal that the other names linked with Liverpool do.
However, how likely it was Liverpool were ever going to be able to attract a bigger name, higher quality centre-back on a loan deal for the rest of the 2015-16 season is another question to ask. At a time where Klopp desperately needs bodies at the back, having seriously considered Lucas Leiva as a third choice central defender for the upcoming clash with Arsenal, Caulker's addition is a welcome one - even if he's not Paolo Maldini.
Looking deeper, whilst the fact Caulker has been at seven clubs before Liverpool despite being just 24 years old can be construed as a negative - his experience, over 200 appearances in the Premier League, has to be noted. Whilst the whole 'Premier League proven' tag is often a myth, in that a lot of the signings the Reds have made with the idea of them being 'safe' and 'reliable' because they've played top-flight English football before have gone on to fail, it's vital given Caulker walks into an unknown defence (to him) and has only six months to fit in and make his mark.
Whilst he's struggled for game time this season, he was a regular in Queens Park Rangers' defence throughout the 2014-15 campaign - playing 35 games though they were relegated, having also played every minute of every game for Cardiff City the year before. Though they were too relegated, he impressed enough to earn a £8 million deal to stay in the top-flight, which must say something.
If it was a long-term signing, it might be another matter. In the knowledge that a centre-back is likely to be with the club for two or three years, it's clear that they can be afforded time to get to grips with the added intensity and physicality of the Premier League, but Caulker - should he be relied upon as early as Arsenal - will have no qualms about that. He's plenty of experience of it, in fact, having to graft for Swansea City and Cardiff in years which they both tried to stave off relegation - succeeding with one and failing with the other.
In that sense, it also helps that he's English. Whilst it is hard to really decipher just how big a part the language gap plays when a foreign defender comes into the league to play alongside a defender of different nationality, it isn't nonsensical to suggest that communication is much, much easier when two players speak the same language fluently and that will no doubt come in handy if Caulker plays alongside Kolo Touré against Arsenal - particularly because they'll only have had one training session together beforehand.
A once-capped England international, the main worry with Caulker is perhaps the regression he has showed since coming onto the scene as a bright and promising young centre-back. Since emerging as a well-regarded talent at Tottenham Hotspur, he has somewhat stagnated. He has had several good seasons but never any that have elevated him as high as he was expected to go when he was a young player, at a time where an England career and a regular berth at a top club looked likely.
Caulker is capable of causing some positive shocks at Liverpool
However, he certainly brings qualities that Klopp, and Liverpool fans, might find refreshing. In the air, he arguably becomes the strongest player the Reds have at the back. Taller than Sakho and Lovren and the same height as Skrtel, Caulker offers height and indeed power in both defending and attacking set-pieces, areas in which Liverpool are excruciatingly weak at the moment. He's also shown organisational abilities, having been captain at Cardiff, again something which the Reds have only really shown infrequently.
Plus, at the end of the day, his signing is relatively risk-free, in that if Caulker performs poorly then Liverpool have no obligation to sign him permanently in the summer. His arrival is also sensible - if not spectacular. At a time when players are dropping like flies, a fit centre-back is not to be sniffed at - albeit not one of the calibre supporters would have been expecting.
But this, after all, is merely a stopgap signing. Caulker will plug the holes whilst the likes of Lovren and Skrtel remain injured and then take on a back-up role once they return, unless of course, he surprises a few and grasps the opportunity in their absences. There is, as some people have pointed out, the opportunity there for Caulker to impress so much that he earns a permanent move to Anfield, so shaky is the Reds' back-line.
Whilst there are an abundance of concerns, Caulker still has time on his side, and the potential, to get his career back on track, so why not do it at Liverpool? The defender might not be who supporters wanted, but he should be more than capable of doing the job Klopp requires of him. Anything more than that would be gladly received.