Richard Hughes made some bold decision as Liverpool sporting director. Now one set of mega-deals looks like an absolute shocker.
Richard Hughes left Liverpool at the end of the transfer window, becoming the new sporting director at Al-Hilal instead. The Reds promptly re-appointed Julian Ward as they look to continue their post-Jurgen Klopp rebuild.
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Hughes had an impact at the club, that's for sure. Liverpool's four most expensive signings are all now his, despite him only being in charge for three summers.
And that's not a case of recency playing the key role. Virgil van Dijk signed in 2018 and he's still 6th. Alisson Becker, also 2018, is 7th. Hughes simply spent an awful lot of money on players and the jury remains out whether that was money well spent.
But that's not all he did. He also renewed contracts, or at least signed off on them, and those decisions now suddenly look like shockers.
The midfield contracts
Hughes decided to hand out long-term contracts to both Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai in 2026. Now, on the face of it, this is completely fine as they each played key roles in the 2025 Premier League title win and are clearly top players.
However, the money handed out was extraordinary. Gravenberch signed a contract worth a reported £87m, while it's thought that Szoboszlai signed similar. These were contracts handed out to players thought to be at the top of their game.
But they weren't. Gravenberch hadn't played consistently well for months by the time he signed his deal in March, with his form having dropped sharply along with the team's.
Szoboszlai's case was different. He did play well last season but the team didn't, asking questions about whether a dominant role for the Hungary captain is actually conducive to a winning team at the elite level.
Liverpool handed out the contract anyway and both are on around a combined £560k per week. The real issue here, though, is that we're not sure either get in the Reds' best XI right now.
Trey Nyoni, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz are the midfield three that is performing. That's a trio virtually everyone would agree on right now and the balance between them all looks very good.
So Liverpool are in a situation where neither Gravenberch nor Szoboszlai would be considered as parts of the best XI and yet they're the players the club have committed to. Even worse, that commitment may end up costing Liverpool Mac Allister, who wants a new contract but hasn't been offered one.
The club handed out those contracts at the worst possible time. The team was underperforming and everyone questioned what the direction was. Liverpool essentially have to find space for the pair, though, and that almost certainly means breaking up the midfield that's actually working.
What Andoni Iraola and Ward do from here is anyone's guess.