It's the most IMPORTANT transfer window in Liverpool history - do you trust Richard Hughes to get it right?

It’s shaping up to be the most important summer transfer window Liverpool have ever had.

Let’s start with the contracts. As things stand, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are going to walk out the door for free.

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The stories about Trent joining Real Madrid are growing in volume and it’s hard to believe currently that he will be at the club next season.

Salah has been extensively linked with Al Hilal - as well as selected European teams - and it is clear there remains a significant gap between what he believes he’s worth and what Liverpool are willing to pay.

And the club have dropped the ball on Virgil too.

Where once it looked certain he would be signing his new deal, the door is now open to Paris Saint-Germain and several other suitors to do a summer deal.

Liverpool are in a terrible bind with all three players, allowing them to run down their contracts and sporting director Richard Hughes has been unable to turn the tide.

It was described as the executive’s ‘priority’ to sort them out this season - meaning any opportunity to conduct incoming business was lost - and here we are at the end of March with no resolution in sight.

He is powerless to prevent them leaving, either because he doesn’t value them as the players do themselves or else it’s because FSG have given him insufficient resources to make the deals work.

Either way it spells DISASTER that Liverpool are about to lose their three most important players at once, and for nothing.

Can Hughes conduct incoming transfer business?

And all that wasted time when he could have been signing players instead. Now it’s going to take some incredible incoming deals all at once just to keep Arne Slot’s side competitive.

Conor Bradley may well offer a solution in place of Trent but he will need first-team-ready backup considering his own extensive injury trouble.

But for Mo and VVD, are there any replacements that are good enough? And, by the same token, do you think Hughes has it in him to get those deals done?

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The club were UNABLE to land Martin Zubimendi last summer and UNWILLING to go for Leny Yoro ahead of Manchester United. Winter saw players like Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Patrick Dorgu slip through their grasp.

If Liverpool are going to get into the market and compete for world-class centre-backs and forwards, then Hughes has not shown that he is capable of doing so as yet.

His only two Liverpool transfers so far have been Federico Chiesa - unwise - and Giorgi Mamardashvili - unneeded.

And the team will also need a starting-quality left-back, a defensive midfielder as well as a starting centre-forward.

This season has seen momentum dry up as Ryan Gravenberch and others struggle with the workload. Some squad players that Slot actually trusted would be nice and it would relieve the burden on his usual rotation of 12 or 13 stars.

Will Liverpool find buyers?

The contracts notwithstanding, it’s going to be a very expensive summer. And that's just to get this team to stand still. We are already looking at seven or eight players who can come in and help Slot pick up where he’s left off this term.

That of course is going to require outgoings with Liverpool having to make sure their income keeps pace with their expenditure in the market.

So who goes? And will Liverpool find buyers?

Having fluffed deals for players like Tyler Morton and Caoimhin Kelleher last summer, Hughes is stuck with some unhappy squad members on dwindling contracts.

Failing to tie up outgoing deals just for those two alone could have cost Liverpool several millions last summer given that they are now one year closer to expiry and have no chance of fetching their true market price.

Kelleher, like Ibrahima Konate, is out of contract in 2026 and this is their last chance to command big money for him. Konate, meanwhile, should be made to sign a new deal or sold because another Van Dijk-like scenario is presenting itself on the horizon.

Also needing a decision is Luis Diaz, who won’t sign a new deal under the terms already offered, and could well opt to run down his contract and leave for free.

Add in the necessity of offloading Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and potentially Federico Chiesa and you can see how this has the potential to go wrong.

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And what of Alisson Becker?

He remains the best goalkeeper in the world and assuming the contract rebels all leave he will be the club’s top earner.

Are we expected to believe he will be earning those fortunes as a backup goalkeeper? Not likely. The Mamardashvili scenario has given Liverpool an unwanted problem ahead of time.

So to recap Liverpool need to:

Sort out contracts for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. This is the best-case scenario but alas increasingly unlikely. If they do, then they will probably have far less money to spend on wages and transfer fees.

If they don’t they will need at least three new starting quality players at right-back, centre-back and on the right wing.

Buy a left-back. Buy a defensive midfielder. Buy a centre-forward. Bulk out the squad with high-quality replacements. Convince Konate to sign a new deal or else get rid. Sell enough fringe players to make ends meet.

Find buyers at high prices for players like Diaz, Chiesa, Jota and Nunez. Decide what will happen with Alisson - potentially the best-paid substitute goalkeeper in the world.

And deal with the many more issues that will crop up as we head towards the off-season. Did I mention Slot is about to enter the final two years of his deal?

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So while it looks like Liverpool are in rude health - top of the league and set for a 20th top-flight crown - this season threatens to be both the beginning AND the end of an era.

There is so much work to do for Richard Hughes, it’s hard to know where to start.

Do you trust him to get it right?