“Quite Exciting…” – Paul Gorst On The Unfinished Business Left For ‘First Class’ Liverpool Operator | OneFootball

Rumours have been circulating via various news outlets about the future of Liverpool’s Sporting Director Richard Hughes, who has been shortlisted by Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, with reports in the Middle East stating he has already agreed to make the move to Saudi Arabia at the end of the season.

Liverpool are believed to have had no contact with the club whose star player is ex-Real Madrid star Karim Benzema. 



Hughes was a major part of this summer’s transfer window, being a big part of the signings of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak in a record £450 million window for the Reds, as well as hiring the manager who won Liverpool the Premier League. The 46-year-old is under contract with the Reds until June 2027, with Paul Gorst believing he “doesn’t think it [the project at Liverpool] is finished”, with a summer of needed change in what would be his final summer at the club.



The Liverpool FC correspondent at the Echo told us that he feels there’s excitement to be had for the summer: “Certainly, for ambition and level of player, they have targeted Hughes as their Sporting Director; it’s been first class, and I find that quite exciting for the summer to see what players they can bring in.

“I don’t think there was much grumbling with the quality of players he signed in the summer. There are myriad of issues as to why a few of them haven’t performed. I certainly don’t grumble with the level of player Liverpool targeted under Richard Hughes’ watch; they went for the absolute best in class and brought them in.”



With Gorst also believing this cannot be the end of the project at Liverpool, it feels like this summer will be huge for Liverpool, with multiple sources also believing that the club will be spending big money again to try and tie up the loose ends of a Liverpool side that won the Premier League title less than a year ago. 

The fear if the Scotsman were to leave is that if someone new were to replace his role as Sporting Director, they would need to be on the same page for the Reds to continue the project and push onto returning to Premier League and Champions League glory.

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Journo Insight host Ste Hoare has a big concern that Liverpool will repeat the summer of 2023, where the club had to buy an entire new midfield due to a run of a few years with major inconsistencies and irregularities in spending habits due to different sporting directors at the club. Anyone who may end up replacing Richard Hughes will need to understand the principles and intent at the club, making this a huge decision for the future. 


Hughes doesn’t just have signings to make, as his presence at the club will be crucial this summer in making some of the biggest decisions regarding contract situations, including Ibrahima Konate and Andrew Robertson, whose contracts both end this summer, with Virgil Van Dijk, Mohammed Salah and Alisson Becker’s contracts all expiring the following summer.



The talk about Alisson Becker’s future was also raised on the show. The Liverpool keeper has had competition from Giorgi Mamardashvili, but despite interest in recent times from Saudi Arabian sides, the Brazilian is adamant about staying as long as the club wants him.



Paul Gorst suggested there’s no rush for the 25-year-old backup keeper to be brought in, but also feels he will be brought in as the first choice after next season, which he believes will potentially be Alisson’s last season as he passes the role down to Mamardashvili. 



Alisson will be hoping to stay in fine form as the Reds face Brighton in the early Saturday kickoff, where the team will try to bring in the momentum from the Champions League victory midweek.