Takumi Minamino has joined Southampton in an eleventh-hour loan move.
The Japan international struggled to make a real impact in his first 13 months at Liverpool with just 31 appearances and four goals from all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp overlooked Minamino for his side’s previous three matches including back-to-back wins at Tottenham and West Ham over the past week.
But the South Coast club made a late approach to the Reds ahead of the January transfer window closing on Monday over a half-season’s loan.
A deal sheet was submitted to the Premier League before the 11pm deadline, allowing the Saints an extra two hours to complete all necessary paperwork.
Minamino’s arrival at St Mary’s is expected to fill the void left by Shane Long, who joined Bournemouth as a replacement for an Everton-bound Joshua King.
Ralph Hasenhuttl expects the 26-year-old to provide the South Coast club with a fresh attacking impetus as they attempt to propel their European bid.
He said: “Takumi will help provide another good attacking option and is importantly the right profile of player for us.
“This will give us some additional depth in our squad at an important time and I am looking forward to beginning work with him on the training pitch.”