Richard Hughes sets stage for CRAZIEST transfer yet

Liverpool fans have had their minds blown over the last 12 months, from seeing Arne Slot win the title in his first season, with just £12.5m spent, to seeing the British transfer record broken twice.

It's been a wild time, not forgetting the fact that we've lost five of our last six games with big-money players like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak regularly featuring in the starting XI. It's mind-boggling.

Prior to the campaign, a huge squad clear-out was sanctioned and sporting direct Richard Hughes was ruthless in his decisions to move on under-performing stars and bring in some shiny new toys.

But not everyone was replaced, with Luis Diaz joining Bayern Munich for £65m, only for academy star Rio Ngumoha to be called up in his place, rather than a more experienced operator coming in.

That move might just have been a masterstroke by the Reds, with a huge talent now on the market.

Madrid to Merseyside for Vinicius Jr?

According to Graeme Bailey at TBR Football, 'Liverpool shouldn't be ruled out' from a move for the 25-year-old winger, who's current deal is set to expire in 2027. There are 'issues' around his contract.

He is said to not be in the greatest of headspaces right now at Real Madrid and so it's plausible that we could see Vinicius on the move in the summer, although an insane fee would be required for him.

Saudi Arabia is not a destination he'd entertain, Paris Saint Germain would be an uncharacteristic destination for him, and Bailey adds that 'Bayern have just signed Luis Diaz', complicating things.

Alongside the Reds, both Chelsea and Manchester City aren note as 'long-term admirers', but the circumstances appear to have made Liverpool favourites. After all, the Citizens have Savinho and Jeremy Doku to deploy on Vinicius' favoured left-hand side, while the Blues have Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens available, to name just a few of the wingers in Enzo Maresca's squad.

Meanwhile, the Reds have positioned themselves perfectly for a new winger to join in the summer.

Cody Gakpo was left as Liverpool's sole left-sided forward, with Ngumoha promoted this season, and while it's clear that teenager is thriving in the senior team, it's clear that he still needs to develop.

At just 17 years old, he's done incredibly well to break through as early as he has done, and Liverpool see him one of our future stars. Lionel Messi also included him as one of his favourite 10 youngsters.

But right now, a new left-winger is unlikely to compromise that likelihood. If anything, it would take the pressure off him. As such, the decision to not sign a Diaz replacement could be genius.

Not only are Bayern considered out of the race for Vinicius, but Liverpool have made room for him.

It goes without saying that the Brazilian is a phenomenal player. He's scored at least 21 goals and registered nine assists in each of his last four seasons. That level of consistency playing for arguably the world's biggest club, is remarkable. In addition, he has nine goal returns in 13 games this season.

The notion that Real Madrid would let him go is to be doubted. He starts almost every game, his availability on the pitch is extremely good and his influence is clear for all to see. As such, a move for him would come at a significant cost - potentially another record-breaking amount of money.

Liverpool making yet another statement in the transfer market would is quite difficult to imagine, simply because of how much was spent last summer, but we didn't necessarily expect Isak's £130m move to follow Wirtz's £116m, so there's always scope for FSG and Richard Hughes to surprise us.

For now, it's worth just keeping an eye on his situation. After all, he's said to 'like England' and the Reds have made room for him in their squad, it's just getting past how crazy a signing he'd be for us.

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