Here’s our Liverpool FC news recap for Thursday 21st March. The Reds finally got their new sporting director.
Wednesday saw some big news at Liverpool as they announced Richard Hughes as their new sporting director. Hughes, who leaves Bournemouth at the end of the season, will take the role on June 1st.
We also got some news on Darwin Nunez, who picked up a hamstring problem against Manchester United at the weekend. Reports in Uruguay suggest when he’ll return for Liverpool.
RICHARD HUGHES HIRED
Liverpool have confirmed Richard Hughes as their sporting director in an announcement on Wednesday. Michael Edwards quickly commented.
Liverpool have confirmed Richard Hughes as their new sporting director. Hughes takes over the role vacated by Jorg Schmadtke, who held the position on a one-year contract but departed in January.
This is the latest step from the Reds in their rebuild. Jurgen Klopp’s exit necessitated change at the club and Michael Edwards was brought back as FSG’s CEO of football as the first step.
Edwards has now overseen Hughes’s hiring as sporting director, his old job, and it’s one that has been expected over the last few weeks. The 44-year-old had announced recently that he’d step down from Bournemouth as their technical director, allowing him to step into a new role.
He’d been involved with the Cherries for a decade and now makes the step up into a more senior role with Liverpool. Hughes will officially take over on June 1st.
HUGHES WANTED LIVERPOOL QUARTET
Richard Hughes actually attempted to sign four players for Bournemouth who are now at Liverpool. The first and most notable of the lot is Virgil van Dijk.
Virgil van Dijk
The director attempted to sign him from Celtic in 2015 but lost out to rivals Southampton. Van Dijk would eventually move to Anfield for a world-record fee for a defender, of course.
But he’s not the only one who Hughes lost out on. He also directly battled Liverpool for Harvey Elliott, Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson, losing out every time.
Of course, that’s nothing but positive for the Reds. Hughes not only has the same eye for a player as we’ve seen at Anfield for the last decade but really just lost out on the latter three for a lack of funds.
He will have those at Liverpool and be in a far better position to grab the players he wants. The article even mentioned Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah as names he admired before their moves to Anfield.
Altogether, it suggests Hughes’s thinking is very much in line with Edwards’ – and that should be an exciting prospect.
DARWIN NUNEZ UPDATE
Reports in Uruguay have shared the return date for Darwin Nunez after the Liverpool striker was ruled out with an injury. The player will miss the March internationals.
Darwin Nunez will miss Uruguay’s March internationals and hasn’t travelled with the squad to Spain. Nunez injured his hamstring against Manchester United on Sunday and was therefore left out by his country.
It comes shortly after the striker’s previous injury, one that led to him missing the Carabao Cup final. This time, however, it seems Liverpool have been lucky.
Nunez isn’t expected to miss any Liverpool games, if reports from Uruguay are to be believed. El Observador claims he’ll be back in time to face Brighton on March 31st – the Reds’ next Premier League fixture.
LIVERPOOL LIKE MURILLO
Liverpool are one of several European giants ‘monitoring’ Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, as financial issues may force a sale this summer.
Forest were hit with a four-point deduction by the Premier League on Monday after they were found to have breached profit and sustainability rules.
Now in the bottom three, there are fears things could get even worse for Forest, who could need to make sales this summer to avoid further punishment.
According to the Daily Mail, the club are at risk of more financial breaches next season if they don’t sell one of their ‘top players’.
Along with Murillo, the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and former Liverpool forward Taiwo Awoniyi are named as possible options to offload.
LEVERKUSEN CEO ON ALONSO FUTURE
Speaking to Spanish outlet Marca, Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro called his coach the ‘number one in the world’ right now and doubled down on previous claims that he will continue in Germany.
Xabi Alonso
Carro said: “He has a contract until 2026 and we are planning the next season with him at full speed. Nothing makes us think that he will not continue with us.
“At the coaching level, he is the number one in the world at the moment.”
While Carro’s optimism over his manager’s future is understandable, it has been reported that Alonso would be unlikely to turn down negotiations with the Reds.
