Incoming new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola and, inset, sporting director Richard Hughes next to the Liverpool FC badge
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola and former sporting director Richard Hughes have completed an impressive raid on Celtic
Liverpool firmly believe one of their new signings will develop into a better player than his direct counterpart at Manchester City, with former sporting director, Richard Hughes, finally receiving some love.
Hughes left his post as Liverpool’s sporting director at the culmination of the summer transfer window. The Scot now works for Al-Hilal, and left Anfield as something of a figure of ridicule among the Reds fanbase.
Failure to close the Marc Guehi deal in the summer of 2025, followed by watching on as Man City landed the centre-half six months later became a talking point.
Other sticks to beat Hughes with include Ibrahima Konate leaving on a free, and failing to sign a specialist right-back, central midfielder after Curtis Jones left, and specialist right winger in the summer just gone.
However, a report from The Times and their chief Liverpool journalist, Paul Joyce, has outlined why Hughes’ moves in the centre-back position specifically should be lauded, not derided.
At the turn of the year, Liverpool chose to sign Jeremy Jacquet for £55m plus £5m in add-ons rather than go back in for Guehi.
Jacquet already looks a bargain at that price, with the new France international dominating Premier League attackers in the early going of his Anfield tenure.
And according to Joyce, Liverpool are firm in the belief Jacquet will quickly develop into a superior player to Guehi, and the Reds won’t be on the hook for a monstrous salary during that process either.
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Richard Hughes got centre-back decisions right
Joyce explained: ‘It should be remembered now that not only did the fee [for Jacquet] raise eyebrows, given he had only played 33 senior games for Rennes, but last January’s deal came at a time when City had signed Marc Guéhi from Crystal Palace for an initial £20m only months before his contract was due to expire.
‘Liverpool had tried to sign Guéhi for £35m at the end of the summer transfer window (having first prioritised a deal for Giovanni Leoni of Parma, another young centre back, for £26m) only for the deal to collapse on deadline day.
‘City’s subsequent move for Guéhi prompted some Liverpool supporters to decry the club’s strategy as short-sighted.
‘Instead, it could be argued that Hughes was actually thinking long-term at a time when he knew he was already leaving the club.
‘While Guéhi represented a plug in and play option given his Premier League experience, City also offered him about £300,000 a week in wages. Over the course of a 5½-year deal, that makes the overall package £100m for someone who will be 31 when the contract expires.
‘Liverpool feel Jacquet can develop into a better all-round player and the collapse of Ibrahima Konaté’s contract talks at the end of last season must be seen through that lens, too.
‘By all accounts, Jacquet was being viewed as a first-team player and ceding to Konaté’s desire for a high wage after a difficult season in which his output dipped for a variety of reasons became a problem the club felt they could do without.’
TeamTalk