How much? Richard Hughes cost Liverpool €99m this summer

While much of the transfer window focus centres on incomings, getting sales right is just as important if you're to be a successful football team.

Richard Hughes, now the ex Sporting Director of Liverpool FC, managed to get some impressive deals sorted this summer.

Jeremy Jacquet looks like a bargain for the initial £55million the Reds paid for him while Victor Munoz, who had a reported £35million release clause, has already had an impact in both Premier League games this term.

Bradley Barcola is yet to kick a ball for Liverpool but he's destined to be a success, right?

At a glance, Hughes did a good job with these. When looking at sales, however, I don't think many would've done worse.

Liverpool's made just one sale in the summer

Despite losing a host of names during the summer transfer window, Liverpool made just one sale when looking at the senior squad. And even that sale wasn't the greatest with the Reds receiving just £30million for Curtis Jones who left for Inter.

In a window in which Elliot Anderson went for £116million, Sandro Tonali moved for £100million, Mateus Fernandes was sold for £85million and Enzo Fernandez was signed by Manchester City for £125million, getting just £30million for a 25-year-old England international is nothing short of disastrous, even with his contract situation.

Liverpool used to sell well

What elevated Liverpool in the past was their ability to sell players. Prime examples of that were Dominic Solanke moving to Bournemouth for £19million, Kevin Stewart joining Hull City for £8million and Danny Ings moving to Southampton for north of £20million.

Now, though, things have changed. The Reds are actually paying Harvey Elliott to play for Valencia having failed to find a permanent suitor for him. And there are a number of players who remain at Liverpool who should've been sold this summer to free up wage budget and squad space.

Hughes' inability to sell players cost Liverpool, literally.

Using the Expected Transfer Valuation model on Football Transfers, we see that poor decisions cost Liverpool a staggering €99m this summer.

Mohamed Salah (€28.4m), Ibrahima Konate (€25.2m) and Andrew Robertson (€6.7m) all left for nothing. Meanwhile, Harvey Elliott (€23.1m) was moved to Valencia on loan. It might benefit him in the long-term but Liverpool could've done with increasing their pot this summer.

Federico Chiesa (€12.7m) remains on the books after failing to find a new club and does Wataru Endo (€2.8m). While their combined RTV is just €15.5million, selling the pair would've freed up over €200,000-per-week in wages. It all adds up. It also frees up two non-homegrown spots in the squad.

The Financial Breakdown:

Mohamed Salah: €28.4m

Ibrahima Konate: €25.2m

Harvey Elliott: €23.1m

Federico Chiesa: €12.7m

Andrew Robertson: €6.7m

Wataru Endo: €2.8m

Total Value Impact: €98.9m (~€99m)