Richard Hughes struggles for breakthrough after incredible 18 months of talks

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is having a tough go of it after a whopping 18 months of talks.

Richard Hughes has had an incredibly notable time of it since taking over as Liverpool sporting director in 2024. His debut summer was just two signings, only one of which actually joined the first team.

That was Federico Chiesa, and he was an opportunistic signing to say the least. Giorgi Mamardashvili was the only other senior signing, but he wouldn't move to Anfield for another year.

The 2024/25 campaign was then dominated by three contract renewals: Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. We didn't get an answer on any of them until the April - two months before they were set to expire.

That saw Salah and Van Dijk renew, but Alexander-Arnold quit the club, signing for Real Madrid instead. The stage was then set for the biggest summer in Liverpool's history as they twice broke their transfer record in a mass summer overhaul.

It's been an incredibly busy time, then, as Hughes's attention is pulled this way and that. It makes it even more remarkable that he's actually been locked in one particular set of contract talks for nearly his entire time in charge.

Ibrahima Konate's future

The Daily Mail points out that Liverpool have been in talks with Ibrahima Konate since Autumn 2024. That's around 18 months of talks with the Frenchman, whose deal finally expires this summer.

It appears that Hughes has done all he could to try and convince Konate to remain at Anfield. Well, 'all' but meet the defender's demands.

The suggestion here is that the two parties have always been 'far apart' in their demands. We imagine that alludes to Konate wanting the pay - and role - of a star centre-back. Liverpool likely don't want to pay him the kind of money that Van Dijk is on, however.

The result is talks dragging on for well over a year now. It's difficult to say which way things are heading, too, as it doesn't appear that either Liverpool or Konate have a strong alternative to one another at this stage.

We know the Reds wanted Marc Guehi but missed out. We know Real Madrid were interested in Konate at one stage but pulled out.

So now, with months other run, everyone is still waiting on a decision but it's clearly been a struggle for Hughes and co.

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