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Jeremie Frimpong embraces Richard Hughes after signing for Liverpool(Image: LFC TV)

Liverpool are recruiting from a position of strength this summer as they look to bolster Arne Slot’s squad.

And the Premier League champions have wasted no time in making waves in the transfer window.

Having last year already agreed a £29m deal with Valencia for Giorgi Mamardashvili to sign this summer, the Reds have since moved quickly to bring in Jeremie Frimpong and Armin Pecsi in £29.5m and £1.5m deals.

Well-aware that Trent Alexander-Arnold would not be signing a new contract at Anfield, Liverpool managed to acquire a quality replacement in Frimpong while also negotiating a £10m deal with Real Madrid to release the departing England international early so he could compete in the Club World Cup.

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Meanwhile, the arrival of the two goalkeepers freed up the Reds to sell Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford in a move worth up to £18m, as the Republic of Ireland international was granted a long-awaited opportunity to become a first-choice goalkeeper elsewhere.

Likewise, it also enabled Liverpool to sanction Vitezslav Jaros’ looming loan switch to Ajax.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg for the Reds, with Liverpool on the cusp of smashing their transfer records.

The Reds have also agreed an overall package worth £116m to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, with the German’s initial £100m fee ensuring he is a club-record signing.

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If all add-ons are activated, the 22-year-old will also become British football’s most expensive footballer.

And with Liverpool now already committed to paying a potential £176m, such a total is the most they have ever spent in a single transfer window while they are certain to go on and break the £200m barrier.

Sporting director Richard Hughes inevitably played a vital role in agreeing a deal to sign Wirtz, as Liverpool made a successful pitch to both the German and his camp to steal a march on both previous favourites for his signature Bayern Munich and Man City.

The former Scotland international, who has been described by one recruitment as "the best in the business", led negotiations with his German counterpart, Simon Rolfes as the Reds thrashed out a deal with Bayer Leverkusen.

While an initial offer of £109m was rejected, an improved bid of £114m enabled the two parties to reach a compromise after three weeks of detailed negotiations.

In the end, Liverpool - who had no intention of paying the full £126m asking-price - got their man.

Negotiations for Wirtz ultimately stemmed from Hughes and the Reds already being in talks with Leverkusen regarding a deal to sign Frimpong.

A £29.5m release clause made a deal much more straightforward, with Hughes then on hand to welcome the Dutchman and his entourage to the AXA Training Centre ahead of the defender completing his media duties.

“Nice to see you, are you well?” Hughes asked Frimpong as he warmly embraced Liverpool’s first signing of the summer before leading them on a tour of the training base.

“It’s always been Red!”

While a deal for Wirtz is not complete yet, it will be finalised later this week after he completes a medical.

But Hughes has already moved onto Liverpool’s next target as the Reds look to sign Milos Kerkez from AFC Bournemouth.

Having already banked £10m for Alexander-Arnold - a player who would have left for free just a month later - and up to £18m for Kelleher - who was entering his own last year of his contract - Liverpool’s tough-negotiating reputation has evidently continued with Hughes at the helm.

It has been an eye-catching few months for the Scot, having also managed to secure the futures of both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah after long-running contract sagas in the final weeks of the season.

He had inherited something of a hospital pass when taking over as the Reds’ sporting director last summer when left to dive in at the deep end and tackle the futures of the long-serving pair - along with Alexander-Arnold.

Hughes was harshly scrutinised following his arrival at Anfield, not aided by a quiet transfer window where Federico Chiesa was the only arrival and moves for Anthony Gordon, Leny Yoro and Martin Zubimendi failed to come to fruition for a variety of reasons.

The fact that it was his well-documented Italian connections that had helped broker a £12m deal with Juventus with minimal fuss earned minimal plaudits as a result.

Instead, the social media conspiracy theorists would bizarrely claim such a signing was nothing more than a PR move by owners Fenway Sports Group to keep the transfer-hungry hordes quiet as Hughes’ role during a quiet summer was prematurely called into question.

It was a similar story come January when Liverpool - now comfortably leading the Premier League table - decided against adding to their squad mid-season and had still not made a breakthrough in contract negotiations with Van Dijk, Salah or Alexander-Arnold.

But now, come the end of his maiden season at Anfield with the Reds Premier League champions, Hughes has already been at the heart of a much more active transfer window - in stark contrast to his opening weeks in the job.

In Frimpong, Wirtz and Kerkez, the Reds will be acquiring three players that ultimately only ever had eyes for Anfield.