An ode to Mascherano, the player Liverpool took nearly 10 years to replace

The success Liverpool are enjoying at present, as they hurtle relentlessly towards a first league title in 30 years, is in part being attributed to the club's expert recruitment. Perfectly exemplified by their expensive, protracted yet calm and coherent pursuit of Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool identify their transfer targets carefully, move efficiently and never settle for an imperfect fall-back option.

The Reds haven't always done their transfer business as wisely nor as efficiently in the three decades since their last top-flight triumph, but their complicated move for Javier Mascherano in January of 2007 bears similarities with the way they currently do business.

Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager at the time, had been following Mascherano's career ever since he became a senior international for Argentina before even breaking into the River Plate first team. Desiring some additional steel, tenacity and dependable simplicity in the middle of the park, he identified Mascherano as the perfect player for the job and, when FIFA regulations threatened to scupper the switch, he waited for his man.

Mascherano's brief spell with West Ham, having joined the club on loan from third-party owners alongside compatriot Carlos Tevez in the summer of 2006, remains one of the most bizarre stories in Premier League history. That the struggling Hammers acquiring two sought-after South American stars was headline-worthy enough, but the fact Mascherano was used so sparingly, making just five Premier League appearances, made the situation more puzzling still.

While Tevez went on to have a profound impact in the second half of his only season in east London, scoring seven goals to help stave off relegation and being named the club's player of the year, the underused Mascherano wanted out. Liverpool offered an attractive exit route, but the fact the proposed loan deal meant the midfielder would be playing for a third club between 1 July and 30 June, which is prohibited by world football's governing body, complicated matters.

Appeals were lodged and, eventually, Mascherano was cleared to play for Liverpool on 20 February, more than a month after the move had been agreed. The Reds had battled hard for the man Benitez wanted and, over the next three and a half seasons, Mascherano reflected the fight Liverpool had shown in pursuing him every time he represented the club.

He wasn't an immediate hit, though. Understandably a little rusty having hardly played since arriving in England six months earlier, exactly what Mascherano was supposed to add to an already accomplished midfield which contained the likes of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso was, at first, difficult to discern for those not fully aware of the Argentinian's fearsome and formidable reputation back home. “A few players have totally surprised me and changed my mind. Javier Mascherano battled at first,” Gerrard later admitted, “and his passing seemed badly awry, but he just needed a settling-in period. At first I was thinking, I'm not sure,' but after five or six games he was obviously very good.”

But the great Diego Maradona had no such doubts. “Mascherano has the biggest talent of all the young players I have seen in the last years,” El Diego enthused upon learning of the midfielder's move to Merseyside. “He is a monster of a player and destined for great things."

And great things soon followed. Once Mascherano had rediscovered his sharpness and settled into his surroundings, he set about fulfilling the vast potential he had demonstrated as a youngster in Argentina. Combative, a leader and an astute reader of developing play, he blossomed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at Anfield. “He has a cool mind on the pitch,” central-midfield partner Alonso commented. “He is analysing and thinking about the game in each moment."

Mascherano was instrumental in Liverpool's progress through the knock-out rounds of the Champions League in 2006-07 and produced one of his best individual displays in the final, stifling AC Milan's gifted playmaker Kaka, who would win the Ballon d'Or later in the year. Although the Reds ultimately lost 2-1 to the Italian giants, the battling Argentinian shone and proved himself worthy of such a stage; the Reds were convinced to secure a permanent, £18.6m deal for the midfielder midway through the following campaign.

He wasn't as refined on the ball as Alonso, and he didn't share Gerrard's thrust and scoring ability, but he complemented the pair perfectly, providing the foundation upon which they flourished, particularly when Liverpool ran Manchester United close for the Premier League title in 2008-09. By that stage, Mascherano had developed into the finest pure defensive-midfielder in the world; he was less of a playmaker than the likes of Sergio Busquets, Alonso and Andrea Pirlo, all of whom also starred in deep midfield roles, but he was a much more effective screener, more adept at recovering the ball and was certainly no slouch as a passer.

Mascherano's aggressive style could sometimes overspill. He was sent off three times in the Premier League for Liverpool and once had to be pushed off the Old Trafford pitch by Gerrard and Alonso, with the irate Argentinian refusing to curtail his protest at being shown a second yellow card against United. But the edge Mascherano played with was an elemental part of his footballing makeup; he was combative and committed, and Liverpool fans adored him for it.

As the stellar 2008-09 side was dismantled, Mascherano grew discontented. And when Barcelona - who were just a year removed from claiming a treble, and under Pep Guardiola, were playing some of the most enthralling football ever seen - came knocking in the summer of 2010, he made no bones of his desire to go to the Camp Nou. Barca had come for Mascherano a year earlier, only for Benitez to dig his heels in and refuse to sell. But this time, complaining his family had never truly settled in England, the 26-year-old fought for the move, informing new boss Roy Hodgson that he would not play in an upcoming early-season fixture against Manchester City.

Although the manner with which the deal was forced through left a bitter taste, pursuing the switch can't be held against Mascherano. After adapting to play centre-back at his new club, he helped Barcelona to a La Liga and Champions League double in his first season, a key part in a team widely considered one of the greatest of all time.

Despite his success in Catalunya, though, Mascherano recently admitted he retains a deeper connection with Liverpool and any club he's played for. “I obviously have a lot of love for Barcelona,” said the 35-year-old who now plays for Estudiantes in Argentina. “I spent the best years of my career there but I would choose Liverpool. I feel something special for them.”

It is testament to the impact he made at Anfield that, almost 10 years on from his departure, the Reds have only recently adequately replaced Mascherano, with Fabinho showing a similar authority, grit and tactical discipline for Jurgen Klopp's side.

Memories of his crunching tackles, timely interventions and simple, attack-springing passes won't live as long in the memory as Gerrard's screamers or Alonso's effortless playmaking cool, but Mascherano was just as important in taking Liverpool within touching distance of an elusive league title. For the consistency and commitment he showed in his 179 games with the club, he had been worth the wait.