Liverpool supporters have once again been frustrated by their lack of proactivity in the transfer market this January.
The Reds could really have done with adding both a centre-back and a right-back to the squad after being decimated by injuries, but chose to do nothing instead.
Sporting director Richard Hughes has taken much of the blame for Liverpool deciding to take a big gamble and it’s fair to say that the former Scotland international is still yet to win over a portion of the fanbase.
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Alisson before Marseille vs Liverpool - UEFA Champions League
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While many of last summer’s big-money signings are starting to come good, Hughes has continued the Liverpool tradition of failing to address glaring holes in the squad when given chances to do so.
This is an approach which has baffled and angered supporters for years now, and according to journalist Rory Smith, it is also a point of interest for football agents, who have been weighing in on how the Reds do business.
Liverpool go ‘enigmatically quiet’ after speaking to targets
Liverpool did, of course, do something in January, securing Jeremy Jacquet’s signing six months ahead of time.
The Frenchman’s addition accelerated in the final days of the window, and as Smith told The Anfield Wrap, the deal was indicative of the way Liverpool have often behaved in the market with Hughes at the helm.
Jeremy Jacquet warms up before a French Cup match between Olympique de Marseille and Stade Rennais
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“An agent said to me in the summer that the way Liverpool operate in the transfer market is quite interesting, because they’ll make the initial soundings out and then they’ll tend to go quiet and you’re not quite sure where they are, what’s going on,” he said.
“But obviously if Liverpool are in for a player in most cases the player will be like ‘that’s an interesting thing that I want you to pursue’, but then they go enigmatically quiet. Then if they decide that they’re going they go and they go fast, that was the way it was described to me.
“They kind of take their time to make up their mind and once they’ve made up their mind it’s very decisive, which I think is not a bad way to operate and I think Jacquet is a good example of that.”
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Is Liverpool’s approach a good one?
Clearly, Liverpool have done some excellent business in the transfer window since Hughes’ appointment in 2024. It is more a case of what the Reds have not done which has been a cause for annoyance.
So, this approach of steady appreciation before coming in all guns blazing clearly does work to a degree.
Having said that, going quiet on potential targets may not be an especially good tactic when those players are also being pursued by other clubs.
Liverpool have been beaten to various targets in recent years and it could well be that those players simply thought the Reds were no longer interested and had more active discussions with different teams.
In the meantime, it seems unlikely that Liverpool and Hughes will change their approach. More players will be lost, but as Jacquet’s decision to turn down Chelsea for the Reds also demonstrates, plenty of good ones shall be won as well.
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