It wasn't the easiest of goodbyes for Jurgen Klopp.
The Liverpool boss knew he was selling a very good player when he greenlit Danny Ings' move to Southampton in 2018, but he had little choice.
Initially a year's loan deal, Ings would sign for Southampton on a permanent deal worth £20m a year later, and Klopp was sad to see him go.
Speaking after the loan deal was agreed, he told Liverpoolfc.com: It is a very strange feeling saying goodbye to Danny. The biggest emotion is how much we will miss him.
“The other emotion is that of being pleased for Danny that he has such a good move and his future is now very bright.
“When he said to us he thinks this is the window it might be best to look elsewhere, for the sake of his career and playing more regular football, it was clear early on that Southampton has great appeal to him personally. It's his home, his family is there, it's his boyhood club. They have a great manager and I think the supporters and him will feed off each other's passion and energy."
Klopp clearly knew what he was talking about. Ings has been a revelation at Southampton, scoring eight goals in 25 appearances last season before really clicking into gear this campaign with 18 goals in 33 games.
It's the sort of form that would surely have seen Ings rewarded with an inclusion in the England squad had the Euros not been delayed due to coronavirus.
And it's the sort of form that Ings had been unable to show at Anfield through no fault of his own.
Because there was something else Klopp had said that summed up Ings' time at Anfield all too well.
"What is clear is that in his time here he had zero luck really," he said. "Certainly in my time.
"Before joining I tried to watch as many games on tape as I could from the season so far and Danny Ings stood out as someone I was really looking forward to coaching."
Indeed, fortune abandoned Ings almost as soon as Klopp arrived on Merseyside.
Then just 23, Ings had enjoyed a bright start to life at Anfield, scoring three times in seven appearances and putting in some eye-catching performances under then-manager Brendan Rodgers.
Ings would score in the Merseyside derby in Rodgers' final game in charge of Liverpool, but his luck would end there.
Rodgers was replaced with Klopp in October and just one week later Ings would rupture his cruciate ligaments in his knee and sit on the sidelines for much of the remainder of the season.
The following campaign was frighteningly similar, with more knee surgery required in October and just two appearances made in all competitions for the forward, who had now played 11 times in total for Liverpool since signing in the summer of 2015.
Ings would battle back to full fitness once again and made 14 appearances in his final season at Anfield, scoring once.
But by the time Ings was fit, Liverpool looked a lot different to the club he'd joined. Roberto Firmino, who had arrived with him in the same summer, was well established as the Reds' centre-forward. The Brazilian was enjoying the season of his life, scoring 27 goals.
Either side of Firmino, Liverpool had Mohamed Salah - scorer of 44 goals - and Sadio Mane, who hit 20. Daniel Sturridge remained in reserve and would eventually spend the second half of the season on loan at West Brom.
Put simply, there simply wasn't room for anyone else at Liverpool.
So Ings would depart, eager to make up for lost time and reignite his career with regular football.
Had he stuck around, he'd have had to settle for a backup role, like the one Divock Origi performed to perfection last season. But had he chosen to stay, nobody would have done more to deserve another chance at the club.
Instead he'd leave as a popular figure at Anfield, somebody who had impressed team-mates, staff and fans alike with his positive attitude and mental strength in the face of such ill fortune.
And when he returned to Anfield for the first time in February, Klopp hailed a played who would "always be a friend" of the club.
If anyone deserved more of a chance to prove himself at Anfield, it was Danny Ings.
It's no surprise that, when the ECHO asked fans who they'd like to have seen given the chance to prove themselves at Anfield, Ings' name came up time and again.
Injuries wouldn't allow Ings the chance to show what he was capable of in a red shirt, they dashed Klopp's dreams of truly working with the forward and they no doubt denied fans the pleasure of celebrating a fair few goals, too.
JohnroiI
1
Facts. The guy is too good.