Liverpool confirm Richard Hughes as new sporting director as Michael Edwards delivers 'outstanding' verdict

Hughes will start work at Liverpool on June 1 after ten years at Bournemouth
Matt Verri20 March 2024

Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of Richard Hughes as the club’s new sporting director.

The 44-year-old will take up the role on June 1, with it announced earlier this month that Hughes would leave his position as Bournemouth’s technical director at the end of the season.

He will replace Jorg Schmadtke, who left Liverpool at the end of the January transfer window having only joined the Reds last June.

Hughes said he was “incredibly proud” to be given the opportunity to work at Liverpool, revealing his excitement ahead of officially arriving at the club this summer.

“People rightly talk about the rich history this organisation can boast, but it is the present and future which really excites me,” Hughes told the club’s official website.

Jurgen Klopp is leading an outstanding team and squad and alongside that the commitment to young players and their pathway to the first team is also outstanding.”

Hughes will play a significant role in identifying a successor to Klopp, who will leave Anfield at the end of the season. Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso remains the favourite, after such an impressive campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.

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The appointment of Hughes follows the return of Michael Edwards, the man recently confirmed as Fenway Sports Group's chief executive of football.

Edwards is believed to have pushed for Liverpool to make a move for Hughes, who spent a decade at Bournemouth and helped bring the likes of Philip Billing, Dominic Solanke and Aaron Ramsdale to the club.

“I am fully aware of the expectations and responsibilities that come with taking this position,” Hughes said.

“It will be my job, working with Michael [Edwards] and leading the football operations team already in place, plus the wider staff at the AXA Training Centre, to make good decisions.

“That’s really what the job entails: you have to make the kind of good decisions which enhance the prospects of having a team that wins and excites the supporters. It is what Liverpool have done well for a very long time and the benefits are there for everyone to see.”

Spanning back to when Hughes as a player at Portsmouth and Edwards a club analyst, the pair have a close relationship and will now work alongside each other in the post-Klopp era at Liverpool

“I’ve known him for half of my life in a professional and personal capacity and he is absolutely someone who embodies the best values of Liverpool FC,” Edwards said.

“I trust him completely. He has outstanding judgement and a track record of making smart decisions which benefit the organisations he represents.”

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