Liverpool senior man could now reject Saudi deal to stay at Anfield - ex-CEO
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Hughes is on the shortlist to become Al-Ahli’s sporting director, who have former Premier League players Ivan Toney and Riyad Mahrez in their ranks.The 46-year-old has been behind Liverpool’s transfer strategy since joining the Merseyside club from Bournemouth in 2024.Hughes has been under scrutiny for his role due to Liverpool’s summer transfer business last year, where the Reds spent nearly £450million after winning the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge. ✈️ Liverpool Transfer News ✈️ Breaking news on deals in progress, latest signings, departures, and contract news from the Anfield boardroom. VISIT THE TRANSFER HUB MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Saudi ‘may find it hard to recruit’ Richard HughesEverton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Hughes may be unable to sell the idea of moving to Saudi right now to his family.Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks that the current situation in the Middle East would have to be resolved before Hughes could move to the area.PlayerSigned FromTransfer FeeAlexander IsakNewcastle United£125mFlorian WirtzBayer Leverkusen£116mHugo EkitikeEintracht Frankfurt£79mMilos KerkezBournemouth£40mJeremie FrimpongBayer Leverkusen£29.5mGiovanni LeoniParma£26mLiverpool’s signings in the 2025 summer transfer window under sporting director Richard Hughes.He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I’ve seen these trends before, as I say, in Saudi of, okay, now these are the areas we’ve got to go for.
And so that’s something that I think is partly there to be looked at as well. “Let’s go to Riyadh right now or Jeddah or anywhere else in Saudi right now given current situations.
Until that’s resolved, I think the Saudi Premier League may find it hard to recruit a lot of people. Now, Bahrain’s been under serious attack and I think the bridge has also been bombed by drones, etc.