Liverpool have enlisted the help of Richard Hughes to shape their future without Jurgen Klopp.
The ex-Bournemouth chief boasts an impressive signing CV and is set for an intense job at Liverpool once his arrival is confirmed, recruiting Klopp’s successor as well as expected stellar players.
Here are some of Hughes’ best signings, ranked:
It was at the start of Bournemouth’s second season in the Championship that midfielder Ryan Christie was signed from Celtic for £1.5m.
He arrived on deadline day in August 2021 and it didn’t take long for the Scotsman to make a serious impression on the pitch.
Christie has become a pressing machine for the Cherries and deservedly sits among the best players in the Premier League this season for high turnovers.
He may be 29, but Andoni Iraola has helped to reinvent Christie this season, who is now playing the best football of his career.
Tyrone Mings may not have had the most successful career at Bournemouth, but flipping an £8m signing into a £25m sale on the back of 23 games in four years was admirable business.
A series of injuries robbed Mings of a real chance with the club, but after playing just 140 minutes of Premier League football he was able to leave on loan to Aston Villa.
Here, his luck began to unfold and now Mings finds himself as one of the country’s better defenders.
When Nathan Ake joined Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side following Bournemouth’s relegation in 2020, it became a record transfer for a Championship team.
He was clearly able to make a name for himself at Dean Court, as Ake signed a five-year contract with City for £41m.
The sale was crucial for Bournemouth, who were then able to rebuild and eventually climb back into top-flight football.
One of the world’s finest goalkeepers, the business of Aaron Ramsdale was undoubtedly one of Richard Hughes’ most impressive feats.
He joined the Cherries from Sheffield United in January 2017 for £800,000 and was then sold back to the Blades for £18.5m just three and a half years later.
The England international may have been between the sticks during Bournemouth’s relegation, but the positives of his sale were massively beneficial.
Dominic Solanke arrived on the south coast for £19m in the 2018/19 season, fast forward five years and Bournemouth are certainly reaping the benefits of his business.
This season has quickly become his most prolific, scoring 14 goals in 27 matches in the Premier League and sparking conversation as to whether an England call-up is on its way.
For a team with a small budget battling beyond their means, Solanke is an asset to the squad.
He’s one of the best strikers in the country and he’s one of Hughes’ best signings to date.
