Although he only spent two full seasons at Liverpool, Richard Hughes oversaw some of the most historic moments in the club’s history.
In the five transfer windows in which Hughes headed the recruitment team the Reds spent over £700 million, breaking the British transfer record twice in one window and adding three players for over £110 million.
When you add a Premier League title win into the mix you would be forgiven for thinking Hughes should be remembered as one of football’s greatest ever sporting directors, but the truth is far more bleak.
Liverpool went backwards as a club under the direction of the Scot, and now Julian Ward must pick up the pieces.
Liverpool need to learn a lesson from Hughes
Under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp Liverpool return to their position as the top club in England, and they did so by spending smart and genuinely improving the players they added.
It’s not as if Liverpool didn’t spend at all when Klopp was in the dugout, the club paid then record fees for a defender and a goalkeeper to bring in Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, but both were quickly recognised as the best in the world in their positions.
When you look at the Reds’ three £110+ million signings, none of them even look like the best option in Andoni Iraola’s squad, let alone the best in the world.
Florian Wirtz has been massively underwhelming since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, and many supporters feel he has gone backwards under Iraola.
Alexander Isak certainly looks better under the Spaniard than he did before breaking his leg under Arne Slot last season, but the Swede still has some way to go before he matches his performance levels at Newcastle.
It is too early to fairly judge Bradley Barcola, but so far he has shown absolutely nothing to suggest he is worthy of being the third most expensive player in Premier League history.
The Frenchman has had little impact since his arrival and has a lot of work to do to live up to his astronomical price tag.
Liverpool need to learn a lesson from the last three transfer windows, and that lesson is move away from Hughes’ transfer strategy.
A shift back to signing proven Premier League players for reasonable prices would suit the club a lot better as they look to regain their place challenging for trophies on all fronts.
The recruitment methods under Klopp were obviously boosted by having one of the best coaches in world football at the club, but a return to signing good players that become stars at Anfield will do the club a world of good.