New Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes previously worked under Harry Redknapp during his playing career.
Harry Redknapp has given a glowing verdict of Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes.
The Reds have confirmed that the Bournemouth chief will join the club in the summer after Hughes previously announced that he would be stepping down from his post in the summer. Hughes has been the Cherries’ technical director since 2016 and will fill the recent Liverpool vacancy left by Jorg Schmadtke after being targeted by FSG’s new CEO of football Michael Edwards.
During his playing days, Hughes was part of Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth side. One of his teammates was Eddie Howe, who he also spent time with during two spells at Bournemouth. Back in 2021, it appeared that Hughes would be teaming up with Howe at Celtic and the former Tottenham Hotspur boss gave an insight into Hughes’ work ethic.
“Richard’s knowledge of players is excellent, not just in Britain but across the world,” Redknapp told the Daily Record. “He speaks fluent Italian, he’s a great lad and he’s going to be very important to Eddie as he looks to bring success to Celtic and in the work which needs to be done. I have no doubt they will rise to the challenge.
“Richard is like Eddie in that it’s just football, football, football with them. There’s nothing much other than family and football and then walking the dog.
“Eddie relies on him with the recruitment and it’s that bond and trust they have in one another which is so important. Richard’s an interesting character, he has a cosmopolitan side to him and if you talk to him about any player from any part of the world, he seems to know almost everyone.
“He will give you chapter and verse on players I don’t know well. It’s that depth of knowledge and study which he puts into recruitment which makes him so valuable.”
Former Scotland international Hughes was raised in Milan and joined Atalanta’s academy before signing for Arsenal, subsequently playing for Bournemouth and Portsmouth. It was during his time at Fratton Park that Hughes met Michael Edwards, who was then working as a junior data analyst.
