Victor Munoz
Victor Munoz recently signed for Liverpool(Image: Johnnie Izquierdo - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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It took Andoni Iraola just a fortnight to confirm his first signing as Liverpool boss when Victor Munoz completed a £34.5m move from Osasuna last week.
In one of his first dealings as Reds boss, Iraola spoke with his recruitment department to establish who they were pursuing and what profiles they were assessing.
And with the club looking to move away from Arne Slot's 'kill-them-with-passes' style of the previous two seasons, Iraola's more aggressive and full-throttle approach meant that there was likely some deviation from the players who had already been established as potential targets.
Attention quickly turned to Munoz, with Iraola making it known his admiration for a player who was an important part in helping Osasuna retain the La Liga status the previous season. Sporting director Richard Hughes, whose knowledge of both Italian and Spanish football is extensive, was also understood to have been impressed with the 22-year-old early career arc.
And after Hugo Ekitike ruptured his Achilles in early April, it became accepted internally that the squad would need more than just the one wide player to come in for Mohamed Salah, who has now left the club after nine largely decorated years.
Liverpool had long been aware of Munoz and his talents having seen him make two senior appearances at Real Madrid before becoming a full Spain international but it was the existence of a release clause that expedited the process.
It's also, crucially, why it has been widely thought that Liverpool muscled in on Newcastle United's attempts to bring in Munoz at the 11th hour.
Liverpool have bristled at suggestions that they did in fact 'hijack' Newcastle's bid. Contact was quickly established with the player's Niagara Sports representatives and when it became clear the winger would be open to a move, the Reds triggered what was written into his contract last summer when he left Real Madrid for Osasuna.
Paid across a six-year deal, the £34.5m fee works out at just £5.75m per year for the Reds, which is a manageable sum for a player with the potential to become a first-team star at Anfield. This explains why Liverpool acted so quickly and why it appeared, on the surface, that the club moved at lightning speed to secure the agreement before Newcastle.
"I've been focused on the World Cup, so I didn't want to hear much about my future unless it was something clear," Munoz said earlier this week. "Liverpool is an opportunity you can't miss.
"It all took place very quickly. Iraola transmitted his confidence to me, how his team plays. He had an important role when it came to choosing."
Activating such terms is nothing new for Liverpool when it comes to recruitment. Their modern history is littered with examples that have essentially allowed them to cut out the middle man of negotiating with the selling club.
As talks for £100m-rated Yan Diomande go on with RB Leipzig, it's almost certain the Ivory Coast winger's future won't be resolved while he continues his now historic World Cup campaign with the Elephants, who are set to contest the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
At such an eye-watering price point, it is no surprise that progress is only incremental at this stage. Leipzig are reluctant to do business and want to tie down the 19-year-old to a new deal that would, ironically, reportedly contain an agreement for him to leave at a certain price.
It's also thought the Reds are still about £25m short of the kind of fee that would tempt Leipzig into abandoning their hopes of keeping the electric Diomande and agreeing to a sale. It is why a breakthrough is not thought to be imminent.
It was the same story last year when Liverpool were locked in talks with Bayer Leverkusen for around a month before Florian Wirtz briefly became the club-record signing at £116m.
It was communicated to those at Anfield in late May that Germany international Wirtz had chosen Anfield as his next destination over Bayern Munich but the player didn't become the Reds' new No.7 until June 20. A release clause would have undoubtedly sped up the process.
Like it did three years earlier when Liverpool moved quickly to ensure Dominik Szoboszlai signed before his June 30 clause expired with Leipzig. Liverpool opened talks with the Hungary captain's agent, Matyas Esterhazy, in late June before club-to-club talks initially over Fabio Carvalho's loan move led to conversations over Szoboszlai.
Having held a productive meeting with Esterhazy and his EM Sports firm, Liverpool learned they only had a few days left to try and trigger Szoboszlai's £60m threshold before Leipzig were able to name their own price.
Liverpool were also interested in Mason Mount, then of Chelsea, but believed a deal for Szoboszlai was easier to conclude decisively rather than negotiating with the Londoners, while also believing he represented better value for money long term.
Leipzig, again, were determined to keep Szoboszlai and would have asked for a higher price had Liverpool not paid the fee before the end of June. Like Munoz, Szoboszlai was at pains to point out how the transfer was wrapped up at speed when he spoke to the ECHO in April.
"It was really weird," Szoboszlai said. "Because always when I am close to a new deal or something is about to change, my agent tells me only at the end. So I don't know anything about it until I have to decide about something. It was really quick, he said they were interested, I said let's go, Jurgen called me and then I signed."
Liverpool were also able to confirm a £29.5m move for Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen shortly after the season had ended last May with the Netherlands international becoming a Reds player, officially, when the transfer window opened on June 1.
Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro spoke on May 14 about Frimpong having the clause at the BayArena but said he was unaware about interest from Anfield at the time, telling German publication Sport: "Jeremie Frimpong has a long contract with us, he also has a release clause, but we are not aware of a move at the moment.
"The rumours surprised me a bit when I started in the football business seven years ago. Gradually, I've been there longer, there are always different interested parties, there are different parties, there are different relationships. It's actually quite difficult to find out where the rumours come from, but I have to say, there are many that really surprise me."
The fact that Frimpong was formally registered as a Liverpool player on June 1 reinforces the idea that the club move fast once the personal agreements are in place with the targets and their representatives.
Once again, the £29.5m sum negated the need for lengthy and often laborious discussions over fees and payment structures. The same applied to Ibrahima Konate, another former Leipzig man, when his £36m fee was met in late May of 2021.
Takumi Minamino, in January of 2020, was someone was brought in to add depth to a forward line that was chasing the Premier League title at the time and it was Liverpool's belief that the Japan international was likely worth at least three times his £7m clause that was written into his Red Bull Salzburg contract at the time.
Eventually sold to Monaco for more than double that fee in 2022, Minamino left as a cult hero who played his part of helping the club win the Premier League, the FA Cup and League Cup.
And two years ago, the existence of a £50m clause in the contract of Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen saw Liverpool attempt a transfer before Real Madrid eventually won the chase.
It's clear that, for Liverpool, such terms are desirable when it comes who they want to bring to the club. It allows them to do their due diligence behind the scenes with the necessary agents and intermediaries and removes the need for prolonged club-to-club talks.
For some of the big-ticket, blue-riband targets, it is not always possible but in a summer where time is of the essence and Liverpool might need to get creative with their shopping list, release clauses could become imperative.