Why Liverpool fans owe Richard Hughes an APOLOGY | OneFootball

While it's true that I might be a little too deep into the online Liverpool fan circles, it seems fair to claim that Richard Hughes was not a well received name throughout the first half of the season.

The summer of 2024 involved incredibly little transfer window activity - Martin Zubimendi declined us on personal terms, and just Federico Chiesa came through the door. While Giorgi Mamardashvili was also signed, he was not set to arrive until 2025. There weren't many reasons to be optimistic.

By the end of January 2025, the winter transfer window had been and gone with no money spent whatsoever, and the contracts of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk were still very much up in their air. The team was succeeding on the pitch, but concerns were growing.

Now less than six months ago from last season's half-way point, the situation is remarkably different.

© IMAGO - Liverpool superstars Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk are being strongly linked with a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

Richard Hughes deserves his flowers

It turned out that tying Trent to a new contract was an unrealistic expectation to put on Hughes. The homegrown full-back had shown all the signs throughout the season that he was going to leave and he just decided against being open and honest with the fanbase. Remaining with us wasn't an option.

Meanwhile, the two players that had openly showed their affection for the club and their desire to prolong their stays with us were offered the terms they wanted and contract extensions were agreed.

Even before the summer transfer window opened, fans had every reason to be optimistic. Arne Slot had won his team with Premier League in his maiden campaign on Merseyside and he had done so with very little investment. All reports claimed he would finally be backed once the season ended.

And now we get to here. Jeremie Frimpong has been signed for £29.6m - a bargain by anyone's estimations - although the club merely triggered his release clause, so it was a simple enough move.

Jorge Schmatdke - Hughes' predecessor - was a master of the release clause when he rebuilt the Reds' midfielder with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai joining under such premises.

So why does Hughes deserve his flowers? Well, if you're not convinced yet that he deserves an apology, then take a quick look at the next two deals that Liverpool are set to complete.

Florian Wirtz, the latest record-breaker to enter the side, is likely to break the club's all-time transfer record fee, but it genuinely could have been a lot worse if we're to assess this move fairly.

The most recent offer the Reds put in for the German was brandished as £113m (€134m), but in reality, only £100m of that is a fixed fee, with the extra £13m coming in the form of potential add-ons.

And it looks like that approach is likely to be accepted. If it is, then Liverpool will have managed to shave at least £13m from the £127m (€150m) that Leverkusen were initially looking to sell him for.

© IMAGO

But then we also have the impending arrival of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth and hidden in Paul Joyce's report for The Times, you will find even more of Richard Hughes' genius strategy.

The Cherries had set out their stall a few days ago, claiming that they would not budge from the £45m that they're looking to get for Kerkez, yet in the latest report it says that 'the Liverpool sporting director has been seeking to negotiate that figure down'.

In time, we will know whether the transfer fee for the Hungarian is indeed £45m or not, but the latest updates from Fabrizio Romano and the other reputable journalists covering the story are suggesting that we are potentially just days away from an agreement, so it's plausible we may get a compromise.

Nonetheless, we're on the brink of signing three players inside the opening 10 days of the transfer window, and £178m might be spent to complete three of this summer's most integral signings.

And this is without forgetting that £10m was agreed to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to be released from his Liverpool contract one month early to join Real Madrid at the Club World Cup and £18m has been agreed to give Caoimhin Kelleher the first-team football that he has long desired.

For some, Hughes might still have more to prove before he receives is due credit, but less than three weeks after the Premier League season concluded, we've seen three contracts signed and we're potential days away from three monumental signings being agreed for a net spend of £150m - an opening statement worthy of rattling any rival club that thought Liverpool might sit on their laurels.