Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s highly respected CEO of Football, and Richard Hughes, the club’s new Sporting Director, have quietly accomplished something significant.
While all the recent media attention has been on Liverpool languishing outside the Champions League places, a quiet January transfer window has ended with a major win.
The Reds didn’t complete any signings for this season but with their £60m deal to sign Jeremy Jacquet, Liverpool have almost completely transformed the spine of the team to be future-facing.
After spending £460m in the summer to sign Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Gianluigi Donarumma, the Reds were a few key pieces away from a new future.
Had they succceeded in signing Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi too, the Reds would have been even closer.
A new spine emerging under the radar as Edwards and Hughes prepare the club for a new era
While much of the noise around Liverpool this season has focused on what hasn’t gone right, a far more important story has been unfolding in the background.
Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards have treated this transitional campaign as an opportunity to reshape the core of the squad. The early signs are promising already, before new signings in the summer are taken into consideration.
The likes of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are no longer just ‘signings for the future.’
They’re already performing at a level that suggests their ceiling is far higher still. Even Alexander Isak, whose momentum was halted by injury just as he was finding rhythm, remains a potential game-changer.
With a return pencilled in for the latter stages of the Champions League, he could yet play a decisive role in how this season is remembered.
Rather than chasing short-term fixes, Liverpool’s recruitment has clearly prioritised players who can grow together and form the next great Reds spine over the coming years.
£60m Jeremy Jacquet deal a major part key centre-back investment
Perhaps the clearest sign of long-term planning has come at centre-back. Liverpool have already secured one of world football’s elite young defenders for the summer, adding him to a pathway that includes Giovanni Leoni.
Jeremy Jacquet
It doesn’t stop there. Mor Talla Ndiaye (18) and Ifeanyi Ndukwe (17) have both been brought into the academy setup, two highly-rated defensive talents who will develop within Liverpool’s system before knocking on the first-team door.
The timing feels deliberate as Virgil van Dijk moves toward the twilight of his Liverpool career. Ibrahima Konate’s future remains clouded as well.
So while frustration has dominated fan conversations online, Hughes and Edwards have been busy future-proofing the club. This season has been somewhat disastrous but the entire future of the club doesn’t hinge on success this year alone.
Not securing Champions League football for next season would be disastrous for Liverpool and likely spell the end of Slot’s time at the club.