Richard Hughes made a SERIOUS transfer mistake that Liverpool can’t fix

Having made a record-breaking start to his career as Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot is finding the going a little tougher these days.

A 3-3 draw at Newcastle, followed by a jittery 1-0 win against Champions League also-rans Girona, demonstrated that the Reds were not going to have it all their own way this season without serious impediment.

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Then came the weekend’s ordinary showing against Fulham at Anfield, a 2-2 draw which again laid bare plenty of the cracks in Slot’s backline.

Andy Robertson had, perhaps, his worst game for Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold failed yet another defensive examination with Antonee Robinson benefitting on the left time and time again.

And in the middle both Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah struggled again.

Konate injury BLOW

Ibrahima Konate was one player Slot could ill afford to do without this season. He and Virgil van Dijk had become a rock-solid central defensive duo - perhaps the best in Europe - but those days are in the rearview mirror with the Frenchman injured until, perhaps, the end of the calendar year.

That issue, along with injuries to Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley and, previously, Trent Alexander-Arnold, mean Liverpool are stretched to the very limit in defence. And accordingly Quansah and Gomez have had more football in the past few weeks than they have been able to deal with.

The problems were evident at Newcastle; Gomez didn’t fare so well in Girona either. But the weekend was a reminder that however good Quansah was last season, his development under Jurgen Klopp has not carried through under Slot.

He started the season as first choice but the Dutchman needed only 45 minutes before he dropped him for Konate. It’s a very different picture now for the 21-year-old, who finished last season with 33 appearances under his belt and and England call-up for their preliminary European Championship squad.

And with a new contract, Liverpool might well be stuck with an underperforming Quansah for a long time to come.

Quansah OUT, Gordon IN?

Now it appears like a major error that Liverpool failed to consider THAT offer in the summer.

Cast your mind back to Euro 2024 when news broke of Anthony Gordon potentially moving to Liverpool. It has since emerged that Newcastle believed he’d had his head turned by talk of a return to Merseyside, that there was a real belief in the England camp that the move would happen and that Trent was even singing “he’s coming home” about his Scouse teammate.

The deal however fell apart with it being reported that Liverpool were not ready to meet Newcastle’s demands. While an overall cash sum of £100m was quoted, it was also suggested that the Magpies insistence on inserting Quansah into the deal had scuppered talks.

It was then claimed that Joe Gomez might go instead and the deal would end up costing Liverpool £30m + Gomez for Gordon. While it’s not known what Quansah would have been valued it, you can imagine it being pretty close to Gomez’s figure or even more.

There was a sense over the summer of homegrown players going for relatively inflated fees - such as Elliot Anderson - and maybe Quansah would have gone into that category. Then Liverpool would have had a new, starting left-winger, one that is better than Luis Diaz, who now looks to have a limited future at the club.

More Hughes transfer regret

The Reds have no chance of getting him to sign a new contract unless they are prepared to meet his excessive demands and the time to sell high was last summer when Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain lodged their interest.

Instead, Liverpool still have got Diaz and Quansah on the books with no prospect of cashing in big-time on either.

Oh, and Gordon has since signed a new contract, extending his terms from 2026 to 2030 and doubling his wage. Good luck getting him anywhere close to what he was offered for this summer with Newcastle in PSR dire straits.

It looks like another transfer misstep from sporting director Richard Hughes, who opted not to strengthen the defence and added only Federico Chiesa to the squad. Liverpool’s resources are being sorely tested right now and it looks like Quansah isn’t up to the job.

Maybe they should have cashed their chips on the homegrown prospect last summer and got a deal for Gordon over the line. That is a great transfer regret.

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