Al-Hilal snatch Hughes: Landmines await his successor at Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool must move quickly after sporting director Richard Hughes confirmed his exit to Al-Hilal, their fifth search since 2022. According to Goal.com, the club want a swift, steady hand to protect the sporting project.

Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon is running the process, with internal and external options live. The churn extends beyond one post, with recruitment staff Mark Burchill and Craig Mackie also leaving for the Middle East.

David Woodfine, Hughes’s assistant, is strongly touted, as are former sporting director Julian Ward and FSG’s Pedro Marques. Outside Anfield, Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Campos is admired, though a move looks unlikely.

Immediate dossiers include Alisson Becker, out of contract next summer. Juventus were rebuffed in the summer. He was named a vice-captain and has started all three league games, while 18-year-old Luka Broegmans is not expected to be first-choice on arrival.

Captain Virgil van Dijk also has a deal expiring next summer. With Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson gone, losing both leaders would be a major risk, even as Van Dijk has played every minute and remains elite.

Midfield was untouched in the window and Curtis Jones’s exit to Inter Milan has thinned numbers, placing heavy load on Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister. One injury could turn strain into a problem.

Biggest of all is forging trust with Andoni Iraola, hired after Hughes helped sack Arne Slot. Amid wider upheaval, including Michael Edwards’s exit from FSG, the new sporting director must restore stability and shape Liverpool’s next chapter.

Source: Goal.com

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