Simon Francis has joined Al Hilal and will now take over their transfer activity, while Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is also linked with the Saudi Pro League outfit.
David Ornstein, reporting for The Athletic, states that despite the imminent exit of Hughes, he is not distracted from recruiting the best possible team for Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool have just welcomed Jeremy Jacquet to the club, the fruit of a £60m agreement reached with Rennes in January. While Ibrahima Konate has left the club to complete a free transfer to Real Madrid this summer, is compatriot will now hope to fill his shoes.
Victor Munoz has also joined the club, joining for £34.6m from Osasuna when his international duty with Spain at the summer’s World Cup in North America is over.
However, there are a number of outgoings in addition to Konate, with Andy Robertson and none other than Mohamed Salah also leaving Anfield for free this summer.
It’s a lot of change to deal with even without considering that Andoni Iraola is replacing Arne Slot at the helm for the 2026-27 season. The Spaniard is now tasked with returning Liverpool to a more challenging place after the worrying slump of the 2025-26 campaign in Slot’s second year in charge.
All the latest on Richard Hughes vacating his role as Liverpool sporting director
Ornstein writes that while Hughes will be leaving soon, it should not be cause for concern in the transfer department.
“Hughes’s contractual situation means this would naturally be his last transfer window at the club before a period of transition which would allow a successor to settle into the role at Anfield,” Ornstein reports.
“Francis and Al Hilal are currently operating on the basis of Hughes arriving at the Riyadh-based club in due course.
“The 47-year-old had been identified by Al Hilal with a view to him joining the club this summer, but Hughes has yet to put pen to paper on any deal. Francis — who replaced Hughes as Bournemouth’s technical director following the former Scotland international midfielder’s move to Anfield —has left the south-coast club to take up a similar role at Al Hilal.
“Francis and Hughes were team-mates at Bournemouth during their playing careers and were colleagues in the club’s technical department. Hughes was appointed by Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s U.S. owner, in March 2024 on a contract through to the summer of 2027.”
It’s difficult to not be worried about the amount of change at Liverpool right now
There is a lot to be excited about right now, but it’s not inaccurate to say there is more than one major change creating new challenges for Liverpool this summer:
Slot has just been replaced by Iraola
Salah, Robertson and Konate are leaving – all key starters
Hughes will vacate his role as Liverpool’s sporting director imminently
All the above is highly nuanced, providing their own unique challenges for the next year at Anfield of huge significance.