When a Liverpool player is linked with Manchester United or vice versa, it's easy to dismiss such claims and chalk it up to transfer madness.
After all, a player hasn't crossed the divide between the two rivals since Phil Chisnall in 1964, with Sir Alex Ferguson adamantly preventing Gabriel Heinze from doing so in 2007.
Yet, this week, we saw one player make a similar choice, with 16-year-old Ethan Ennis rejecting a new deal with the Reds this summer in order to join Manchester United.
Although it's not the same when you're only an academy player, may Ennis have paved the way for the most high-profile of transfers down one of football's most perilous roads?
When reading claims in France that Liverpool has been offered the chance to recruit Paul Pogba, it all depends on how many pinches of salt you have on hand.
According to Le10Sport, the Frenchman's agent, Mino Raiola, has approached Reds officials to propose that the World Cup winner, whose contract expires in 2022, could be ready for transfer this summer.
PSG has been connected with the midfielder and appears to be a viable option if he leaves Old Trafford before the end of the season, but might he make the most unlikely of Premier League moves instead?
According to a source in France, while Liverpool officials have ruled out making an approach for Pogba, they may be interested in his services in January if the 28-year-old remains at Manchester United and refuses to sign a new contract.
On the one hand, any action makes no sense. The Reds already have an aging group, so bringing in a midfielder who will turn 29 in March and demand large pay, either on a free transfer next summer or by pressuring United into signing him in January, makes little sense.
However, a scenario like this is comparable to Liverpool's pursuit of Thiago Alcantara last summer, when club officials decided the opportunity to buy a true world-class talent was too good to pass up.
And the fact that Jurgen Klopp has publicly expressed his respect for Pogba on several occasions adds fuel to the fire.
“I don't know what to say. Paul Pogba is one of the best players in the world. That's all I have to say about it, and he's a Man United player, so I think we should prepare for him as well,” the German remarked in December 2018 when asked if he would like to manage the Frenchman one day.
“I'm not sure how often you question Jose Mourinho about our players? Is he being questioned about Gini Wijnaldum? No way, I don't think so! ”
“You know more than I do what will happen if I answer that question! So there's no response!
“It'd be cool if you could make a story out of it. ‘Klopp refuses to respond! ’”
After Ole Gunnar Solskaer replaced Jose Mourinho as United manager following the previous match between the two teams in February, Klopp praised Pogba's efforts for the Red Devils.
He said, "They discovered a solution, and it worked out." “Since Ole arrived, almost everything has altered.
“We see Paul Pogba, who Man United signed a few years ago, and (Ander) Herrera, who is in fantastic shape.
“They were all good before, but now they have more confidence and are taking advantage of their abilities. That's a significant difference.”
Even as recently as April of this year, Klopp praised Pogba's efforts for Liverpool's arch-rivals Manchester United.
"Is it Rashford or Greenwood up front? Is it James or Greenwood on the wing? Is it Rashford or Pogba on the wing?"
Pogba obviously put in another excellent performance last night (against Roma), and who we will face is fairly clear.”
Meanwhile, following the Reds' FA Cup loss at Old Trafford in January, the Liverpool manager was caught on camera having a lighthearted talk with the player on the pitch.
Following the game, Pogba appeared to shout something to Klopp, leading the German to turn around and have a longer conversation with the Frenchman.
As they came to a standstill around the center-circle, the two exchanged a smile before continuing their talk as they walked towards the tunnel.
While Klopp appears to be a fan of the France international, he was less enthusiastic about United's £89 million outlay for re-signing the midfielder from Juventus in 2016.
“If you bring one player in for £100 million and he gets hurt, everything goes down the chimney,” Klopp remarked at the time. “The day that this is football, I'm not in a job anymore,” Klopp added.
He later addressed his prior views on German television after signing Virgil van Dijk and Alisson for £75 million and £65 million respectively in 2018.
“Liverpool is a financially ambitious club, and we wouldn't be able to compete if we didn't spend the same amount of money as everyone else; everyone else is splashing the cash, so we have to do the same.
Bayern had a bottomless pit of money when I was in Germany, like £100 million, which today gets you one centre-back, so this bottomless pit of money is enough to buy one player in today's world and doesn't even cover their salary.
“The market has altered more than I imagined, but I stand by what I said regarding the Pogba trade; perhaps certain things were lost in translation, but my point was that if football becomes just about money and not football, I'm out; and I still feel the same way.”
That concludes your tale! ‘A Paul Pogba transfer could force Jurgen Klopp to retire from football' - perhaps not.
At the very least, whether the midfielder leaves this summer, in January, or at the conclusion of the season, he will not be available for £89 million.
While any idea that Pogba would join Liverpool in January or at the conclusion of his contract is still a long way off, you can bet that as long as the Frenchman's future is a source of conjecture, Klopp will be forced to respond to one or two inquiries regarding the Manchester United midfielder.
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