Richard Hughes torn to shreds by Premier League legend

Richard Hughes has been at the centre of attention at Liverpool for the last couple of years.

His role as the Reds' sporting director is one of the most important at the club.

Alongside Michael Edwards, the Englishman drafts up different signings for Arne Slot to choose from while also negotiating the fees and contracts included in the deal.

And, while most of the talk directed his way has been positive this term, last season, it was anything but positive.

However, the over £400 million summer spend seemed to make up for it with fans, or so he thought.

Paul Merson slams Richard Hughes' summer transfer business for Liverpool

The transfers of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz were two of the biggest in Liverpool's history.

The duo were seen as the best way for Liverpool to take their next step and to even replace Mohamed Salah in the future.

And, while Wirtz is finally getting back to his best, it's clear that some new signings still need to be made at Liverpool.

This has caused plenty of confusion among the football world, with Paul Merson now slamming the recruitment process undertaken by Hughes.

"With all the money Liverpool have spent, the squad looks wafer-thin," Merson told Sky Sports in quotes relayed by The Mirror.

"Looking at it now, they got it horribly wrong in the summer.

"By going bang, bang with a load of attackers and thinking they were going to dominate English football for the next four or five years, it's backfired."

Liverpool need to be more logical with their recruitment in the summer

Even though attackers were needed to replace Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz at Liverpool, they still spent far too much money.

Isak and Wirtz alone cost the Anfield outfit around £240 million, which, for any team is a massive chunk of change.

The Reds have often spent their money wisely and have chosen to upgrade multiple areas of their squad, rather than splashing the cash in one place.

Although the chances of a new player arriving before January's deadline day look slim, that doesn't mean that they can't eye up potential targets for the 2026-27 summer window.

However, if Hughes, Slot and Edwards do end up drafting up a shortlist of potential targets, they must ensure that their entire squad is benefitting, rather than just one area of it.

Otherwise, they could end up in the same situation all over again next year.

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