Richard Hughes uses Alisson and Virgil van Dijk to defend record Liverpool spending spree
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
Richard Hughes has emphasized the significance of disregarding transfer fees when discussing Liverpool's recruitment approach this summer.
When it came to forecasting which Premier League clubs would splash the cash, Liverpool wouldn't have featured prominently on many lists, yet it ultimately invested over $600M (£446m) on fresh talent.
The expenditure represented the highest sum ever committed by a Premier League side in one transfer window, surpassing Chelsea's $586M (£434.5m) outlay during the summer of 2023.
Alexander Isak arrived for a club-record $169M (£125m), whilst Florian Wirtz commanded $157M (£116.5m) and Hugo Ekitike cost $107M (£79m) as they too switched to Anfield.
Read More.
Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giovanni Leoni similarly joined the Premier League champions, as Arne Slot's squad experienced substantial reconstruction, reports the Liverpool Echo
Speaking publicly for the first time since Slot's inaugural Liverpool press conference last summer, Hughes has now revealed why the club pursued their chosen targets, regardless of the substantial costs involved.
"As best you can, you have to detach yourself from what the transfer fee is likely to be," he told the IMG x RedBird Summit on Thursday via The Athletic.
"First and foremost, the identification of the right player for the right system for the right head coach has a fair amount of importance, and I think this is not something that's necessarily new for the football club and its ownership.
"If you look at what was paid for Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk in history and you equate that to what that would be in 2025 money, you're not far away from where you are with some of the fees that have been spent this summer.
"We pay what we believe to be fair market value for a player based on age and based on necessity of that individual to fit into the squad.
"In the fullness of time, we hope that, instead of talking now about what a huge fee it is, it has been value for money for the football club whenever we're making that assessment in the future
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
The Reds kicked off the summer with a bold declaration by capturing the highly-coveted Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth a then-British record.
Isak subsequently arrived on transfer deadline day following an extended, protracted saga that witnessed the striker effectively down tools at Newcastle United to engineer his departure.
Hughes is convinced that Liverpool have acquired two talents capable of remaining at Anfield for numerous seasons ahead.
"That would be very much the hope and in buying a player young, you give yourself the ability for that to be the case," he said.
"We also want to try and win now, and that's important as well, so I'm not describing them as works in progress or anything like that.
"These are players who have already done a lot in their individual careers