Liverpool news: Sporting director Richard Hughes expected to stay at club beyond 2027 - BBC Sport
According to BBC Sport, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is open to the possibility of Saidaysia joining Al Hilal without signing a new deal at the club when his current contract expires next June. Hughes and the club are currently focused on the imminent transfer window and the upcoming season.
According to a report by BBC Sport, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes is not expected to sign a new deal to stay at the club beyond 2027. Hughes' current deal expires next June and he is reportedly set to join Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal club after the deadline.
Al Hilal and Simon Francis Hughes are reportedly ready to join, according to the report. Francis, who was technical director at Hughes in Bournemouth; Francis replaced Hughes when he was at Bournemouth after Hughes joined Liverpool. Francis left Bournemouth at the end of the season to lead transfer operations at Al Hilal.
Hughes and Liverpool are now fully focused on this transfer window and the upcoming season — Andoni Airola's first full season at the helm, having been appointed coach after Arne Slott took over. This summer Liverpool signed French defender Jeremy Jaquet and Spanish winger Victor Munoz; Jackett's signing was essentially completed in January, which was before Irola's arrival.
Midfielder Harvey Elliott is also set to return to the club following the end of his loan from Aston Villa. Liverpool, meanwhile, are also on the lookout for prolific forwards — names such as Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barkola have been linked, but the club are likely to be disappointed with Ivory Coast star Yann Diomande as he wants to join PSG this summer.
The report also says that Airola and Hughes' acquaintance goes back a long way: it was Hughes who advised Airola when he was appointed Bournemouth head coach in 2023. Later, plans changed at the office after Hughes was brought in by Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group in 2024; Hughes was instrumental in appointing Arne Slott as Liverpool head coach at the time. Slott managed to win the Premier League title in his first season, but was sacked at the end of last season due to poor performance.
The club is also strengthening Airola's coaching staff: the club has announced that deals have been officially agreed for Tommy Elpic and Shaun Cooper to join Liverpool as first-team coaches. Pablo de la Torre will join Airola as an assistant coach for the fourth time. Tom Webber — after a decade in performance analysis at Bournemouth — is set to join Liverpool as first-team tactical coach.
All in all, according to BBC Sport Hughes is likely to exit the club after 2027 instead of focusing on the above tasks at the moment, as well as action on his move to Al Hilal.