What is Richard Hughes doing? £100m+ agreement confirms Liverpool transfer plan is insane

Richard Hughes is doing something absolutely insane. A £100m+ agreement confirms that.

Manchester City agreed a deal with Nottingham Forest on Thursday evening. They're signing Elliot Anderson and doing it for a club-record £116m (The BBC).

That's not just a club-record for City, either, but the most anyone has ever paid for a midfielder. Anderson becomes the most expensive British footballer ever, too.

Now, is he worth it? Probably. Anderson is a sensational midfielder already and he's still just 23. There's little doubt that he can become one of the absolute best in the world.

But this also shines a light on Liverpool's own plans. The Reds are moving closer to selling Curtis Jones, their own homegrown centre-midfielder.

The Scouser is older at 25 and only has one year remaining on his contract. For those reasons, we wouldn't expect him to come close to Anderson's fee if he were sold.

There is quite clearly a player worth far, far more than £35m there, however. That's the absolutely ridiculous asking price for Jones and one that will ultimately cost Liverpool dearly.

Because the Anderson fee makes it quite plain that there's a fantastic market for top-level English midfielders. The idea that Liverpool will give one up for £35m after failing to agree a new contract is simply infuriating and it makes you question what on earth Richard Hughes is playing at.

The reality here is that Jones should be signing a new contract. Liverpool, however, appear to have blown their chances on that.

Instead, they're set to lose an asset easily worth €90m for an absolute fraction of what he's really worth. It's incredible mismanagement and something that should set off alarm bells at Anfield.

Hopefully, Liverpool can turn this around because they're currently hurtling towards one of the worst deals you'll find anywhere this summer.

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