It's not just transfer business conducted at Liverpool that is furnishing Richard Hughes's reputation this summer, writes Paul Gorst
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KIRKBY, ENGLAND - JULY 05: (THE SUN OUT. THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Richard Hughes Sporting Director of Liverpool during the first Arne Slot press conference at AXA Training Centre on July 05, 2024 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is enjoying an impressive summer
(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Richard Hughes's true acumen may have only started to become known more widely to Liverpool supporters in recent months. But it is not just the business he is conducting at Anfield that is furnishing an increasingly impressive reputation.
After a deal for Martin Zubimendi fell through, following a sharp U-turn to remain at his boyhood Real Sociedad, the only arrival on Hughes's watch last summer was Federico Chiesa, whose £10m capture from Juventus was viewed as a potentially smart move that, nearly 12 months on, appears to have been a low-risk gamble that has yet to pay off.
The two-year deals for Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were seen as two considerable pieces of business from Hughes in April but it is fair to say it is the work done since May that has really captured the imagination among the Liverpool fanbase.
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The work of a sporting director is more opaque than a manager's - or, in the case of Arne Slot, the head coach's - but the basic judgement from fans and pundits comes from the transfer work undertaken.
So the £29m deal to trigger Jeremie Frimpong's release clause at Leverkusen was an impressive way to quickly move beyond the Trent Alexander-Arnold era at right-back.
That a £10m sum was negotiated with Real Madrid for Alexander-Arnold to be released a month early from his own terms on Merseyside was an impressive sum for a player who was never going to kick a ball again for his boyhood club. The Reds also saved somewhere in the region of £800,000 on wages too.
But it was the club-record pursuit - and the outflanking of rivals - to land £116m Florian Wirtz that has really set pulses racing this summer.
Hughes was described to the ECHO by those close to him as "the best in the business" earlier this summer and predictions of "an exciting summer ahead" have so far proven prophetic.
Wirtz arrives at Liverpool after the Premier League champions fought off competition from Manchester City, Bayern Munich and a late and forlorn effort from Real Madrid.
Signing one of the most coveted young players in Europe is a statement signing for both Hughes, Slot and the club as a whole.
The Redswill pay an initial £100m for the Germany international with a further £16m in success-based add-ons and he joins on a five-year deal ready to add another dimension to the Reds frontline.
The £40m agreement for Milos Kerkez will see the Hungary international arrive from Bournemouth this week and take the spending to around the £185m mark with further additions expected.
But it's not just the deals Hughes has directly negotiated that are proof of his ability to find value and bring in quality, however. A look at his former club is indicative of an executive who was able to players set to go on a steep, upward curve.
Dean Huijsen was one of those and Liverpool themselves targeted the centre-back just a year after he moved from Juventus to Bournemouth for around £15m.
The then teenager established himself a full Spain international during his maiden term in the Premier League and is now a Real Madrid player after they triggered his £50m release clause, having seen off strong competition from the Reds and Chelsea, to name just two.
That Kerkez is now valued at £40m having been at the Vitality for just two years, following his £15m move from AZ Alkmaar, is another example of Hughes spotting a player whose star is on the rise.
And the Cherries' defensive ranks could yet be decimated further, with Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain interested in Ukraine international Ilya Zabarnyi, who is valued at around £50m.
With Bournemouth set to make around £140m from three sales that were all facilitated by Hughes while at the Vitality, Andoni Iraola - whose own arrival on the south coast was also down to Liverpool chief's hard work - is set to be given a relatively huge budget to rejig the squad and build on what was an impressive campaign last time out.
Hughes's stock has never been higher at Anfield as an exciting summer continues for the Premier League champions. And the same can likely be said at Bournemouth too.