Liverpool FC News: Richard Hughes pulls off ANOTHER £100m masterclass | OneFootball

It's become a regular theme for Liverpool's sporting director to occasionally get the plaudits he deserves after a new piece of information surfaces, suggesting he's pulled off a masterclass.

Of course, last summer, Richard Hughes had a very limited track record for fans to turn to, given such a limited amount money was a spent on transfers - a mere £12.5m on signing Federico Chiesa.

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But the funds all went towards a record spend this year, with over £400m being paid out to clubs to rebuild the Premier League title winners. The club's former record transfer spend was doubled.

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However, while a lot has been said about a couple of the incomings which met the £100m mark, in addition to some player sales which were sanctioned for numbers above their value, it's the Reds' most insignificant departure in terms of money received which is Hughes' biggest masterclass.

Trent to Real Madrid was GENIUS

Initially, there were fears that Trent Alexander-Arnold would leave the club for nothing, since he ran down his contract before agreeing to join Real Madrid. But a last ditch £10m was agreed to allow the Englishman to join his new club one month early to participate in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup.

Of course, that figure was miles below his value, but it was far more than fans thought we would get.

The player will have secured a hefty signing on fee, which is likely to be more than his eventual transfer fee, and he's currently on a six year contract, where he'll receive €15m per year per Capology. All things considered, it's roughly £100m that Liverpool will no longer have to pay, since he's off our books.

And when you consider how his career at Real Madrid has started, you can't help but feel as though the club has been handed a lifeline that they did not intend to have. His injury record was reasonable, but fitness issues have plagued him and the underlying context does not look good for his new club.

It's previously been reported that Richard Hughes did Trent no favours by giving him his dream move in June compared to July, since he's physically struggled to adapt to the demands placed on him.

As such, Dani Carvajal has often been played ahead of him, which has been a source of great humour for the onlooking Liverpool fans, who laugh about his failing 'Ballon d'Or charge'.

But on Tuesday night, he started the Champions League clash against Marseille, which would have been a great opportunity for him to showcase his ability - except he pulled up with a hamstring injury five minutes into the match, which appears likely to result in a six to eight week recovery period.

The context behind all this is that Trent has played nearly 30,000 minutes at the professional level in his career so far and he's only 26 years old. In footballing terms, he's a lot older than he actually is.

Over the last two seasons, the full-back missed 33 games through injury and the ultra-physical football he played in when Jurgen Klopp was the Liverpool manager might have been the cause.

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka is a classic example of a player who is plagued by hamstring injuries because his role in the team means he's prone to picking up the same issues in the affected area.

Trent now looks to be going through the same thing and managing his fitness in order to not be constantly injured is not as easy as you might think. He's likely to suffer issues for the remainder of his career, and when someone's availability is in doubt, you have a serious problem on your hands.