Richard Hughes left Liverpool a massive problem that will haunt them, 'immense' star proves it

Liverpool had a rather interesting summer transfer window.

They replaced many of their first-team squad and, with Andoni Iraola coming in to take over from Arne Slot, their whole identity changed.

During pre-season, it felt like Liverpool were going to completely transform and potentially even get back to the top of the Premier League table.

However, they've massively underdelivered and, even though there have been glimpses of improvement, it's unclear whether Iraola's appointment was a good or bad thing yet.

They spent over £150 million again this summer with Bradley Barcola being their marquee signing.

But, by the end of the window, Richard Hughes left his post and, although he may feel like he did a good job, there's one massive problem that he's left the Reds to deal with that looks likely to come and haunt them.

Mohamed Salah's exit was Richard Hughes' biggest mistake

Mohamed Salah's Liverpool exit this summer was definitely the highest profile departure from L4.

The Egyptian King still had a year left on his deal but, instead of seeing that out, the winger and the club chose to mutually terminate his contract.

This made fans believe that signing a new right-winger would be one of the main things on Liverpool's priority list.

And, while they did bring two new wingers in over the summer, naturally, they both play on the left so, when used on the right, they're not likely to perform to the best of their ability.

Indeed, some players such as Ismaila Sarr and Yankuba Minteh were eyed as potential options to replace the 34-year-old but, after Brighton and Crystal Palace were demanding stupidly high fees for both players, those deals never really went anywhere.

This left Liverpool lacking depth up front and, since Salah contributed to 22 goals across all competitions last season, it gave them a massive gap to plug.

And, after his recent performance, it's now clear that the Egyptian's exit is likely to come back and haunt them.

Mohamed Salah's hat-trick for Trabzonspor proves why Liverpool selling him was a mistake

Before Salah exited L4, the attacker was easily one of Liverpool's most important players.

The attacker was their main source of goals and was the reason why they won the Premier League title again in the 2024-25 season.

No matter what season, how old or how fit he was, the Egyptian always managed to find a way to get the ball into the back of the net or at least set one of his teammates up.

The same thing happened on Saturday with Trabzonspor.

The Turkish Super Lig outfit pummelled league leaders Galatasaray 4-0 with Salah bagging himself a hattrick and assisting his teammate for the fourth.

Of course, Salah wasn't himself last term but, even then, he still contributed to 22-goals across all competitions which certainly isn't a number to be frowned upon.

If Liverpool weren't going to replace the Egyptian, they should have definitely kept Salah around longer.

Because, even though teams obviously need to move on from their golden era, without replacing their star men, they're going to fall further behind.

Here's hoping that Liverpool find someone to replace him soon, otherwise, some serious questions will need to be asked.

That is, especially if the "immense" attacker continues performing like this.