“What do you think they’re smoking over there?”

Liverpool owner John Henry’s famous response to Arsenal’s £40million plus £1 bid for Luis Suarez might well be asked of him right now.

Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) £300m spend in the current transfer window has brought similar gasps of incredulity.

Arsene Wenger’s cheeky attempt to trigger Suarez’s release clause was laughed off 12 years ago.

But £300m is serious money, and Liverpool might not be done yet.

There is talk of Marc Guehi coming from Crystal Palace and, should Luis Diaz leave, Rodrygo from Real Madrid.

Both are in the £70m to £80m range, which is what Diaz could bring in if sold.

Other outgoing players might earn the club at least £150m in total, but that’s not to diminish the Reds’ spending power – and how they’ve used it.

Liverpool have become shopaholics this year.

Compared to last season, when only £10m was spent (on Federico Chiesa), they’ve gone from Scrooge to Imelda Marcos.

Even if the splurge stops now, it seems out of character for FSG: they were the original Moneyball merchants, after all.

Buy low, improve and sell high. A self-sustaining model, which often frustrated their fans.

They were accused of penny-pinching and have been known to pull out of “auctions” when a target’s selling price went through the roof.

They would cite the familiar mantra, “We can only spend what we bring in.”

Some fans felt the team was playing with one hand tied behind its back compared to state-owned rivals.

But the great Liverpool diaspora is rubbing their eyes in disbelief as one after another sought-after star lands on Merseyside.

They were even prepared to break the British record for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, until told he’s not available.

It’s not that FSG are suddenly blowing rivals out of the water, but players do want to come.

Florian Wirtz especially, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, and now Hugo Ekitike are all in that category.

Players know it’s a well-run club with great facilities, an iconic stadium filled by passionate fans, and pays top wages.

Who would not want to join?

The only negative is the weather – Kylian Mbappe said the whole of England, not just Liverpool, is too cold for him – but the “Egyptian King”, Mo Salah, doesn’t seem to mind.

The whole world knows that FSG has spent big before – buying Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker with the £142m Coutinho windfall – but this is double the amount and feels different.

Those two enabled Jurgen Klopp to catch up and then overtake rivals, whereas Arne Slot is already ahead. This is from a position of strength.

Winning the EPL title was worth £174m and the Champions League, despite not reaching the quarter-finals, was another £90m earner with all the win bonuses in the group phase.

A huge deal with Adidas is being signed and an enlarged Anfield brings more matchday income. The Reds are now rolling in it.

And hitting this new stratosphere comes after being cagey last year.

Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is another to add to the list of new recruits.

Although signed in January, he was immediately loaned back to Valencia and the £29m fee goes into this year’s accounts.

His arrival is advanced planning in excelsis, as Allison is still very much first choice.

But the new boy is eight years younger and starred in the group phase of Euro 2024. He says he’s coming to be the No 1.

His arrival triggered the departure of Caoimhin Kelleher at a price that was a reward for being such a loyal, reliable servant.

A quibble here is that they could have bought another Georgian.

Mamardashvili’s compatriot, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was also available in the winter window, being snapped up by PSG from Napoli for €80m. Imagine this team with “Kvaradona” in it!

If he’d made the kind of impact he did in Paris in January, Liverpool might not have wobbled in March.

Nor would they be looking for a left-sided winger now.

But the most glaring current need is an additional centre-back.

Jarell Quansah has gone to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m and Ibrahima Konate is yet to agree to a new contract, possibly being courted by Real Madrid.

As it stands, a repeat of the Trent Alexander-Arnold situation is not unthinkable.

And the only experienced cover is the loyal but frequently injured servant, Joe Gomez.

Guehi looks decent but he may demand an automatic place.

Even if Konate, who is also injury-prone, stays, another centre-back is surely needed as, at 34, Van Dijk’s minutes may need to be managed.

Top of the departure list has to be Darwin Nunez, who last season proved beyond doubt that he is that rare breed at Anfield – an expensive flop.

The jury may still have been out after two seasons, but last year he was more dunce than dynamo, fluffing so many gilt-edged chances.

Remarkably, there is still interest in the Uruguayan and the Reds simply have to accept whatever they can get for him.

Harvey Elliott may also be deemed surplus to requirements if a decent offer comes along, although his energy and versatility could be invaluable over a long season.

It has been a window even more dominated by the Big Six clubs than usual. Headline acts are Arsenal finally buying a striker, but Viktor Gyokores has much to prove, having flopped at Brighton and only finding his feet at Coventry.

He turned down a reunion with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United even though it was the Portuguese boss who turned his career around.

They also have a midfielder Liverpool thought they had signed – Martin Zubimendi – until he changed his mind a year ago.

A few question marks, then, as there are about many other big deals. Manchester City looks to have hit the jackpot with Omar Marmoush, but other arrivals are not quite cutting the mustard, and City still look dodgy at the back.

Chelsea have bought well and, if their Club World Cup heroics are anything to go by, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian, alongside ‘steal of the century’, Cole Palmer, could make them contenders.

The champions look to have done the best business, but even they can’t suit everyone.

Even with a transformation that Jekyll and Hyde might not have managed, there are critics. The “FSG Out” brigade is still not satisfied, asking: “Why Etikite and not Isak?”