Richard Hughes FINALLY completes deal Liverpool wanted for nine years

There are some transfers that are years in the making. Some that fall through and then happen later down the line.

Think of Mohamed Salah when he moved to Chelsea instead of Liverpool back in 2014. Over three years later, he was signing for the Reds and the rest is history.

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Some players are simply just destined to play for Liverpool. Some have a grip on the club's scouting department and are highly admired.

Salah fit into both of those categories. But he's not the only one Liverpool have signed, who they had tried to sign in the past.

This summer Liverpool have finally completed another deal that has been over nine years in the making.

And now, it's done at last.

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Liverpool have confirmed the arrival of Freddie Woodman on a free transfer. He will be joining up with the Reds upon the expiry of his contract at Preston North End at the end of the month.

Woodman's transfer has come out of nowhere. He's certainly a surprise choice. But if we delve into the history of the club's scouting department, it doesn't seem to be that much of a surprise.

That's because Liverpool have kept an eye on the club's new third choice goalkeeper for a long time. In fact The Chronicle reported that Liverpool wanted to sign Woodman all the way back in January 2016.

Back then Michael Edwards was in charge of the club's scouting department but in the end he could not convince Newcastle to sell.

Now though the situation is completely different. Yet nonetheless, Richard Hughes deserves credit for convincing Woodman to sign for Liverpool.

We are talking about a 28-year-old goalkeeper in the prime of his career. The fact that he's agreed to sit on the bench and be a back-up is a pretty good deal for Liverpool, and another excellent testament of Hughes' ability to recruit the best talent for every role and position.

It's an interesting caveat that Hughes actually signed Woodman once before, bringing him on loan to Bournemouth in 2022, and that was the season the Cherries earned promotion back to the Premier League.

So the pair of them will have fond memories working together and we will hope that will continue at Liverpool as well.

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What did not happen for Woodman in 2016, is now happening in 2025. In the end, a move to Anfield was always meant to be.