Richard Hughes transfer BOMBSHELL as Al-Hilal in 'advanced negotiations'

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has been well praised since joining the Reds back in 2024.

Under his leadership, the Anfield club hired Arne Slot - a crucial decision which led to the team winning the 2024/25 Premier League title.

But the market expert also negotiated new contracts for superstars Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk - further augmenting his reputation.

Last summer Hughes also demonstrated his prowess in the transfer market. After a fallow first season, Hughes unleashed all his might in the summer window - overseeing £450m worth of new signings.

He was able to break the British transfer record - twice - for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. Not only did Liverpool land most of their primary incoming targets under Hughes last summer but he also conducted around £200m worth of outgoing deals.

Richard Hughes wanted by Al-Hilal

That landmark window stands Liverpool in great stead - and practically guarantees the Merseysiders will be competitive in the Premier League and Champions League well into the long term.

But there looks to be a threat on the horizon - not necessarily for any of Liverpool’s current crop of players but for Hughes himself.

That’s because a report emanating from Saudi journalist Ahmed Al-Ajlan claims that Hughes is in advanced negotiations to take over at Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal.

Al-Hilal in 'advanced negotiations' for Richard Hughes deal

“AlHilal has reached advanced negotiations with the Scottish "Richard Hughes" to take on the role of "sporting director," and Richard currently holds the same position at English club Liverpool,” he wrote on X.

“According to the sources, if a deal is struck with Hughes, he will begin his duties next summer, with some members of his team starting preparations for work beforehand.

“According to the same sources, the name of the other Scottish "Paul Winstanley," who currently works at Chelsea (and previously at Brighton), emerges as the second option.”

Al-Hilal signed Nunez last summer

Al-Hilal signed Darwin Nunez from Liverpool over the summer for an initial £46m. The Riyadh superclub also boast the highly-rated Simone Inzaghi as head coach and have got plenty of other top talents on the books.

Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Theo Hernandez, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Marcos Leonardo are just a selection of the names Inzaghi has got to choose from.

But we can expect a significant transfer overhaul if Hughes lands there next summer - a potential groundbreaking move which would require big changes at Anfield.

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