What Richard Hughes has been spotted doing in Liverpool as Federico Chiesa transfer is completed

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Liverpool have made their second signing of the summer transfer window after announcing the addition of Federico Chiesa.

The Reds have had a quiet summer on the whole, but have burst into life right as deadline day comes into view.

The signing of Chiesa looks like an absolute steal for Liverpool and adds a dose of extra firepower to Arne Slot’s attack.

Chiesa has suggested he can play right away and Reds supporters will now be desperate to get a first look at their new No.14.

Beyond the Italian’s signature, though, and that of Giorgi Mamardashvili, the Liverpool squad still look a little light in certain areas. Will sporting director Richard Hughes be busy over the next day or two?

What Richard Hughes has been doing

Whichever way you slice it, Hughes has had a disappointing first summer in charge at Liverpool. The former Scotland international spent so much of the window doing nothing at all.

Of course, that is perhaps unfair to Hughes, who was surely working to try and see whether there were any potential openings for the Reds.

However, it cannot be ignored that heading into the window, the two main areas Liverpool looked weak in were at centre-back and in central defensive midfield.

Although he did try and sign Martin Zubimendi to fix the latter issue, that did not come off and no alternative was identified.

If you put the fact that Liverpool’s three soon-to-be out of contract superstars are all soon-to-be out of contract, then it is not a good luck for Hughes and has led to questions from fans over where the 44-year-old.

READ MORE: Jamie Redknapp gives his opinion on Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes

According to Sky Sports journalist Vinny O’Connor, Hughes is actually back in Liverpool and was at the AXA Training Centre to welcome Chiesa as a new signing on Thursday.

“He [Chiesa] flew into Liverpool John Lennon airport yesterday afternoon ahead of starting the medical,” says O’Connor.

“It got underway yesterday and they got a good deal of it completed off-site before he was here at Liverpool’s training ground until around about 1 o’clock in the morning.

“Michael Edwards was here to see him, sporting director Richard Hughes was also here we’re told,” adds the journalist.

Will Liverpool make another signing?

Although Liverpool could do with added two central players, they have actually been linked with making another signing in the wide forward area.

Reports from Mexico have claimed that Liverpool are close to signing Cesar Huerta of Pumas. However, that is yet to be verified by UK based sources.

As far as a centre-back and centre midfielder are concerned, there are now no active links to suggest that something is imminent.

As a result, we’d suggest that Hughes is actually back on Merseyside simply in order to arrange outgoing deals for Liverpool.

Ben Doak has seven offers on the table according to reports on Thursday and those kinds of deals are now more likely to be on Hughes’ desk rather than incomings. We’d love a surprise, though.