Liverpool look ready to acknowledge £162m nightmare, it's not too late

Liverpool appear ready and willing to acknowledge their £162m nightmare. It's not too late to do something about it.

Richard Hughes did a lot in charge of Liverpool that many don’t agree with. For some, it’s the record-breaking signings that entered the Reds into a market they don’t typically shop in and brought sub-par results.

For others, it’s the players he decided to move on. Liverpool gutted their homegrown contingent, selling on players who were first-team level for quick cash. They still haven’t been replaced and the Reds are up against the quota.

And then there were the contracts he handed out. Mohamed Salah got a gigantic contract - and deservedly so - but Hughes backed out of it after just a year. Not even quite a year, in fact.

We’d argue that another contract situation has gone wrong, too. And Liverpool look ready to acknowledge it.

The midfield nightmare

Liverpool didn't invest in new midfielders this year. It's actually the only part of the team that Hughes never touched in the transfer market, with zero midfielders arriving since 2023.

But he did make a major decision. He handed out contracts worth around £87m to Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, locking them in as the foundation in midfield going forward.

That was a massive call. Mainly because Liverpool's midfield did not look good last season and they struggled badly to control games. In other words, it was a poor time to lock down any of the midfield as things weren't actually working.

But the plan, quite clearly, was for Gravenberch and Szoboszlai to be the primary midfielders and for Liverpool to build around that. Only, they appear to have already acknowledged that the plan isn't working.

It doesn't work, if we're honest. That is a wildly imbalanced midfield and we all saw that at the start of the season as Newcastle United waltzed through the pair to score two goals. This being a Newcastle team that, in hindsight, is one of the worst in the league.

Liverpool are moving in a different direction, though. Andoni Iraola has avoided playing them together ever since and instead seems to much prefer Alexis Mac Allister alongside Trey Nyoni.

We're not actually certain that either Gravenberch or Szoboszlai get into the first-choice XI right now. And Liverpool look ready to lock that down.

The Athletic reports that Liverpool would renew Mac Allister's contract if this form continues. They're also in talks with Nyoni over a new deal - and he currently holds a lot of power in those talks as a starting player.

The Reds, then, are acknowledging the nightmare decision taken earlier this year. £174m of contract money handed out, and they've already settled on a new midfield.