Richard Hughes leaves behind a complicated legacy after stepping down as Liverpool sporting director with plenty more surgery still required despite mass turnover in the Reds squad
Sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola of Liverpool during an U21 training session at AXA Training Centre
Sporting director Richard Hughes and head coach Andoni Iraola of Liverpool during an U21 training session at AXA Training Centre(Image: 2026 Liverpool FC)
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Liverpool are on the lookout for their fifth different sporting director in four years after it was confirmed that Richard Hughes had left the club following the conclusion of the latest summer transfer window. The former Scotland international’s departure was not a surprise, with him having repeatedly been tipped to leave his Reds post early amid ongoing interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
But he leaves behind a complicated legacy which can not yet be judged fairly as Liverpool continue to navigate a period of transition.
Hughes has arguably faced greater scrutiny than any of his predecessors, coming at a time of increased, unprecedented turnover at Anfield.
During his first summer in the hot seat, Federico Chiesa was the only new addition to Arne Slot’s inherited squad, having also been responsible for the arrival of the Dutchman as he faced the unenviable task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp, as Martin Zubimendi turned down a move to Liverpool.
Supporters and critics alike were not impressed by the Reds’ limited activity. Yet come the end of the season and Liverpool were Premier League champions as Hughes and Slot were lauded for their contributions.
What followed was a record-breaking summer at Anfield in a transfer window which was meant to turn the Reds into the Premier League’s dominant force. They broke their own transfer record twice to land Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, and parted with £450m when bringing in eight new senior players.
Yet from that octet, only Hugo Ekitike was a success as a mixture of injuries and poor form stopped the remaining seven from making a satisfactory impact.
In a season where Liverpool limped to a dismal fifth-place finish, scraping Champions League qualification by the skin of their teeth, Slot and Hughes bore the brunt of supporter frustration as the former paid for it with his job.
With Michael Edwards also announced to be stepping down as FSG’s CEO of Football, it was not a surprise when reports emerged suggesting Hughes would soon be following.
A look at the squad he leaves behind and there is certainly imbalance, with the Reds looking weak both in midfield, having ultimately yet to sign a replacement for Fabinho at number six despite his departure three years ago, and at full-back. Try as they might, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez just aren’t Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
Then there is Liverpool’s failure to sign a natural replacement for Mohamed Salah, having been rejected by Yan Diomande. After flirting with Yankuba Minteh and Ismaila Sarr, they ultimately decided to retain Cody Gakpo’s services instead but are now left with having to select one of four natural left-wingers on their weaker side.
But before Hughes is judged too harshly, his final acts could still grant him some grace.
Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo have all started their Reds careers positively following their summer arrivals, while Bradley Barcola was brought in from Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week to great fanfare.
Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola, having been appointed for the second time by Hughes, is already showing early signs of forging a genuine connection with a Liverpool fanbase that Slot struggled to muster despite Premier League glory.
If the Reds are to push on while navigating this season of likely transition, Hughes might have helped leave a solid foundation in place despite the imbalance he leaves behind.
It was perhaps somewhat ironic that in Liverpool’s final game before Hughes’ departure was announced, that Isak finally started to look like an £125m frontman as his brace earned a 2-0 victory and first win under Iraola away at Ipswich Town.
The Slot and Hughes reign started at Portman Road too, with the turnover in the past two years somewhat remarkable.
Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch the only survivors from the starting XI 25 months ago. From the matchday squad of 20 that day, 11 are no longer Reds players.
In truth, it would be little surprise if a further six followed out the exit door over the next 12 months. Van Dijk, Alisson, Wataru Endo, Kostas Tsimikas and Joe Gomez are all out of contract next summer, after all.
It is remarkable how quickly a title-winning squad has been broken up, yet the end is not yet in sight. Evidently, the Liverpool transitional period will not end overnight with plenty of work still to be done. Which perhaps explains the conflicted feelings surrounding Hughes’ legacy.
The arrivals of Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni and Ifeanyi Ndukwe could help ensure a successful passing on of the baton from Van Dijk at centre-back, in a way that was clearly missing with Salah on the right wing this summer - though Diomande’s rejection certainly did not help matters.
Perhaps the same can be said in goal if either Lucca Brughmans or Armin Pecsi emerge as Alisson’s long-term successor.
But there have already been a number of hints dropped that Hughes’ own successor will face a rather active introduction when the transfer window re-opens in 2027.
Iraola himself has admitted he had perhaps hoped for a more active summer window as he explained Liverpool’s thinking with the suggestion that Reds bosses are currently thinking more long-term.
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"There were other options we decided not to take,” he said following the end of the summer transfer window. “For different reasons: sometimes it is sporting reasons because they don’t improve what you have, sometimes it is economical reasons as it didn’t make sense in terms of the market to do those movements.
"As a manager you need the players for today but if they (the club) explain to you the vision and the long-term project, you also have to understand the club.
"I think sometimes it doesn't make sense to pay crazy money - the market was the market - for players who maybe in the long-term you don't need. Then you will need this money to solve other problems in that position.
"Sometimes it's better to look a little bit further than the next game and the next month. I think that's what has happened in some positions in this market.
"Sometimes we decide not to think more in the mid or long-term and just a solution for these three months. But at the end, we want them to be players for Liverpool in their positions.
"The club has decided not to sign someone because we need them for these two or three months and instead trust the players we have, us working with the players we have and thinking of the long-term."
It would not be far-fetched to consider Minteh one such player, with Brighton & Hove Albion holding out for £80m after rejecting two offers from Liverpool despite the fact that the winger is currently sidelined after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury.
Yet his boss,Fabian Hurzeler, has strongly hinted that the Gambian could still complete his ‘dream’ move in 2027.
Elsewhere, AS Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro has claimed Lamine Camara could secure a major transfer 'very soon' and could have 'even better options than he did yesterday' on transfer deadline day after he saw a switch to Chelsea blocked.
Reports earlier this week suggested that Liverpool had told the midfielder to wait for them to make their own move in the new year.
Of course, this is all just speculation. But Liverpool’s own actions this week also hint at possible mid-season transfer activity after leaving both Chiesa and Wataru Endo out of their Champions League squad.
Instead, Hugo Ekitike was selected, along with Conor Bradley, despite the pair both being long-term absentees.
The Reds could have left both injured players out of the squad, well-aware they would likely only be available for the very end of their league-phase campaign in December and January, safe in the knowledge that they could then be added ahead of the knockout stages should Liverpool progress.
Yet clubs are limited to making a maximum of three mid-season changes to their Champions League squad.
But selecting Ekitike at the expense of Chiesa and Endo, the Reds are keeping those three changes free. Again, they are thinking more long-term than just selecting who is available now.
Be it in January with space to operate after such hints or next summer following the latest in a long line of high-profile Liverpool departures, further surgery on the Reds squad is certainly coming.
If the next chapter in Liverpool’s history is to be a successful one, Hughes will have played a big part - even if not every transfer decision paid off.
But as the Reds prepare to pass on the sporting director baton once more, it is clear that, despite plenty of upheaval already, their work is still only half done.