David Ornstein reveals what other club’s sporting directors really think about Richard Hughes at Liverpool

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Liverpool did not have an especially eye-catching first summer without Jurgen Klopp in the transfer market.

Klopp became well known for treating the summer window as something approaching an inconvenience during his time at Anfield.

But with the German gone and Liverpool hiring a brand new recruitment team, hopes had been high that the Reds would do the business they needed ahead of the season.

In the end, few would argue that that mission was successfully completed. Only one new signing was made for the upcoming campaign, with the Liverpool squad still looking short for Arne Slot.

The man who has been taking the heat for that failure has been sporting director Richard Hughes.

Richard Hughes earning plaudits

Hughes arrived at Anfield this summer as a protégé of FSG’s new CEO of football and former sporting director Michael Edwards.

However, having spent all of his post-playing career at Bournemouth up to that point, the former Scotland midfielder had question marks over his ability to cut it at the top level.

For many, these doubts have only deepened following a summer that saw Liverpool embarrassed in their pursuit of Martin Zubimendi, and fail to sign a much needed centre-back.

If that weren’t enough, Hughes and co are still yet to sort out the contracts of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.

READ MORE: What Liverpool are planning on doing next after missing out on a defensive midfielder

Nevertheless, despite those being the fairly damning facts, journalist David Ornstein says Hughes’ work has actually been very highly regarded within the football world.

“Watching, listening and talking to people who are better versed in the situation than us and they’re very complimentary,” Ornstein tells The Athletic FC Podcast.

“I speak to other clubs, directors, people that move in a similar world, sporting directors, technical directors and so far they’re taking their hat off to Richard Hughes.”

Assessing Richard Hughes’ performance so far

When looking at the work Hughes has done since arriving at Liverpool, it easy to look at these comments from Ornstein and scoff – heartily.

While he may be adept in negotiations and have come across well to those who have dealt with him, there’s no escaping the fact that Hughes has not delivered in his first summer as sporting director.

That could all change if contracts are signed by Liverpool’s ‘big three’ over the coming weeks. But, so far, it has been at best underwhelming and at worst negligent from Hughes.

Perhaps the sporting director deserves credit for being a part of the process that saw Slot hired as the man to take over from Klopp. The new head coach has been a revelation, but it is still very early days in that regard.

It is great to hear that Hughes has a good reputation amongst his peers and that should serve Liverpool well in the future. For now, though, he still has an awful lot to prove to fans of the club he’s serving.