One swallow may not make a summer, but two rockets from Darwin Nunez might just have given Liverpool’s season a lift-off.

It’s hard to overstate how vital the Uruguayan’s late double strike against Newcastle could be.

At the bare minimum, it turned damaging defeat into thrilling victory, garnered three points and kept the club unbeaten since April.

Losing at St James’s Park with 10 men for over an hour to the new Johnny-come-latelies of the top four would have been a bitter pill to swallow.

Especially with new skipper Virgil van Dijk facing more than a one-game ban for his comments after a straight red card.

But from the reaction of all those of a Liverpool persuasion – and a good many neutrals – there was more to it than that: it was a performance Liverpool needed.

After a disappointing season, the summer had not gone according to plan.

Reconstruction of both the midfield and Anfield itself had been disrupted amid mounting rumours that Mo Salah might leave.

It was especially gut-wrenching after a promising start.

Two astute, early signings suggested the Reds had regained their touch in the market.

Then came the fiasco that proved otherwise.

Throwing money around like a lottery winner in the Last Chance Saloon is not the Liverpool way. Nor is failing to do their homework.

But the Reds were guilty of both and discovered that there are, yes, millennials who don’t come running at the mere mention of the club’s hallowed name.

It’s a safe bet that neither Moises Caicedo nor Romeo Lavia has heard of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and the Anfield legends of yore.

But both have been dazzled by the bright lights of London.

So they ended up at Chelsea, and Liverpool landed a little-known, 30-year-old Japanese, Watur Endo, for £19m instead.

If that was an embarrassment, worse looked likely to follow.

None other than Salah, himself, was a target for Al Ittidah and the transfer window was closing.

Salah leaving would not just have pulled the rug from Liverpool’s campaign; it would have dug up the pitch as well.

With no time for a replacement, thoughts of a title challenge would have disappeared in August.

This is what can happen when your director of football is a semi-retired old mate of the manager’s using a laptop from a Mediterranean island.

Jorg Schmadtke may have contacts in Germany – he helped get Endo from Stuttgart – but his finger is a long way from the pulse.

Losing Michael Edwards as director of football has been like losing a star player.

He was certainly a star performer in identifying talent, bringing in most of the main men of the great Klopp side that won everything.

The situation that unravelled in the transfer window couldn’t have happened on his watch.

Like offering more for Caicedo than what Real Madrid paid for Jude Bellingham.

They play different roles but the England midfielder was supposed to be nailed on for Liverpool for over a year.

Then they decided the fee was too much and tried to buy three players for the same money.

Alex Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai came in but the unexpected departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson put two spanners in the works.

The rebuild is still not complete – a centreback is also needed – and, with time running out, early summer optimism had dissipated.

Moreover, the opening of the new Anfield Road End has been delayed after the contractors went bust.

This will cost millions in gate money and not create the cacophony that a 61,000 capacity was expected to deliver.

Back on the field, there was still the problem of what to do with Nunez.

A year on from a potentially record signing of £85m with add-ons, the striker had not lived up to expectations.

With 15 goals in all competitions last season, he was not a total flop, either, has pace to burn and physical presence.

But he is not Erling Haaland.

An early red card derailed him and, by his own admission, he doesn’t seem to “get” much of what he’s told in training.

Only now is he serious about English lessons.

But the two Exocets he produced to beat Newcastle were goals of the highest quality.

The way he pounced, the pace at which he burst through the Magpies’ defence and the power he unleashed were something to behold.

They were goals Haaland couldn’t have scored.

Not only will they give him the confidence boost he badly needed, but they’ll frighten the rest of the league.

After all the doubts, Klopp looks to have another ace in his pack.

And with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota also hitting their straps and Salah staying for now, the outlook has suddenly changed.

As we go to press, there’s still a frantic few hours left in the window, but even the centre-back cupboard may not be as bare as first thought.

Little known – even to fans – 20-year-old Jarell Quansah came on against Newcastle and looked to have what it takes.

It’s too much to expect a repeat of how Stefan Bajcetic emerged from the youth ranks to the manor born last season, but the 1.9m-tall Quansah certainly impressed.

With Ibrahima Konate also absent for a few games, the strapping young Englishman may have his chance sooner than expected.

Aston Villa’s visit on Sunday will be a decent test of Liverpool’s ability to build on the victory Nunez snatched from the jaws of defeat.

In a fledgling season in which no club has really settled, it could also see Liverpool emerge as serious contenders.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.