Transfer deadline day is always a chaotic and hectic affair as clubs and players both rush to push deals through, complete medicals and get transactions completed.
Liverpool experienced this in the worst way unfortunately as their previously agreed upon move for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi fell apart at the eleventh hour on Monday.
A £35 million fee was agreed between the clubs but the unforeseen mayhem of transfer frenzies arose to scupper the deal in a frustrating way for the Reds.
What happened?
As mentioned, Liverpool and Crystal Palace agreed to a set fee in addition to a 10% sell-on clause for Guehi to make the switch to Anfield.
Personal terms on the player side were agreed weeks ago and there was no issue there as Palace allowed him to begin his Liverpool medical in London.
Right around the time that the England defender was completing his medical, Palace saw their expected deal for Brighton defender Igor fall through after the player decided he wanted a move to West Ham, after agreeing a move to Crystal Palace.
Following this unfortunate turn of events, time was simply against the FA Cup winners to find a suitable replacement for their Captain.
Manager Oliver Glasner was adamant the transfer not happen as a result and there are reports he threatened to leave the club if it was sanctioned. This played a direct role in the deal falling apart.
What now?
There is an expectation that Guehi, who will now have 6 months left on his contract by the time the next transfer window opens, could still move to Liverpool, but at a far cheaper price.
While this is frustrating at the moment for Arne Slot and his staff who would have loved a player of this quality in their defense for big-time European matches and league fixtures, they should be firm favorites to land him in the heart of the season.
Liverpool will have to hope the foursome of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez can stay fit through the winter.
It's not a catastrophic turn of events, but it does put a damper on what could have been an incredible looking transfer window.
Leoni has yet to feature for the Reds since making his move from Parma, but the fixture list is going to get a lot more congested so the Italian will have plenty of chances now, especially with no Guehi.
We'll see if both clubs come back to the table for the England international or if next summer for free is the move for Richard Hughes and his team.