Liverpool's gradual shift to a 4-2-3-1 formation has been largely credited with Jurgen Klopp's need to accommodate Xherdan Shaqiri after his flying start at Anfield.
The Switzerland international has scored six times in 22 games, including a double against Manchester United in the 3-1 win in December, and has blended excellently with the seemingly impenetrable front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Yet there is another new player to have thrived in that formation in Fabinho, whose emergence over the last two months especially has thrown a blanket over the doubters questioning his £44m move from Monaco after an inauspicious start.
The 25-year-old midfielder did not make his Liverpool debut until September 18 and even then it was as an 89th-minute replacement for Sadio Mane in the 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield.
His first Premier League appearance was over a month later, starting Liverpool's 1-0 win at Huddersfield. Jurgen Klopp was adamant Fabinho needed time to adjust to his demands but it was not a huge leap of faith to wonder how impressed the Liverpool boss really was by his summer signing.
A month after Huddersfield, Klopp even had to shoot down claims Fabinho could leave in January.
'That would be completely crazy,' Klopp quipped. 'He doesn't want to, it's just the crazy world out there where if a player doesn't play in the last five games, you open kind of a transfer market. We are not involved in that.'
Now, in the mid-season window, Fabinho has never looked more secure in a Liverpool shirt.
He was man-of-the-match in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Everton and was compared to Steven Gerrard after his assist for Sadio Mane's goal against United but the yardstick was against Manchester City on January 3, an enthralling clash between the two teams battling it out for the Premier League title.
Klopp benched the Brazil midfielder and went with his tried and trusted midfield trio of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum.
His selection was not the reason Liverpool lost 2-1 - nor was the length of the grass - but they looked much likelier to win when Fabinho replaced Milner after 57 minutes.
His presence in a defined holding role gave Liverpool more structure and clout in the heart of the pitch and more impetus further ahead. They equalised seven minutes later, although parity lasted only eight.
His introduction also signalled his growing comfort in a midfield three, although he certainly appears strongest in a two alongside captain Jordan Henderson. It is a good problem for Klopp to have once his squad is fully fit; Wijnaldum has also excelled throughout the season while Milner appears evergreen.
And yet from that game on, Fabinho has shown another dimension to his value to Liverpool's squad.
With most Liverpool's central defence sidelined through injury in Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, Fabinho filled in well in a back four against Wolves and Brighton.
With those three still returning to fitness and the recent injury to right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho might not be back in the middle of the pitch just yet.
But like Shaqiri, his recent performances appear to have done enough to make Klopp consider reforming a highly dependable trio as he looks to lead Liverpool to their first ever Premier League title.