Liverpool transfers: Richard Hughes is 0/4 in DISASTROUS summer window

The Premier League kicks off this week and not a single item on Richard Hughes’s summer to-do list has been crossed off.

Liverpool went all in on Martin Zubimendi, a player known for his reluctance to leave Real Sociedad, and despite that particular midfield position being viewed as a priority role to fill, they didn't have any fallback options.

The 25-year-old had given the Reds his word and Liverpool, rather naively, had believed him. If reports are to be believed, there's no alternative to the Euro 2024 winner and the 2019/20 Premier League champions are happy to go into the new season with their current options.

Read more: Liverpool STILL interested in contract rebel

Arne Slot was expecting a new No6 to come in. That is no doubt why he's been using placeholders in that position during pre-season. Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Trey Nyoni have all been used in that role in friendlies.

Alexis Mac Allister was used there last season but he's now viewed as a better option elsewhere. In an article for The Times, Paul Joyce claimed Trent Alexander-Arnold could be used there.

Liverpool would've looked internally for a solution before moving ahead with a £52 million deal for Zubimendi. It is abundantly clear that Slot and those in charge of recruitment don't believe the Reds possess someone with the right profile to fill that role. But now they're willing to settle and perhaps lower the ceiling of this squad. They're limiting what this squad is capable of.

Liverpool must adapt to Zubimendi snub

The deepest midfielder in a Slot system is pivotal to the way the team build out from the back and the way they defend. Get that wrong and you impact both ends of the pitch.

As is, Liverpool possess players who can do a job there rather than someone who knows the role and excels. For this not to be exploited, the Reds will need to come up with a plan to hide weakness rather than simply playing to their strengths. Sacrifices need to be made. It might not be as extreme as it initially sounds but the playing style will have to be tweaked. Roles will have to be adapted.

Things you don't want as a new manager trying to put your stamp on things. Things you don't want when three key players are weighing up their futures at the club having entered the final 12 months of their deals.

Richard Hughes is 0/4 this summer

At the start of the summer, news coming out of the club was that Hughes would prioritise contract talks with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

The Liverpool captain, however, confirmed recently that fresh talks had not taken place. There's been no news on Salah while reports in Spain claim Real Madrid and Barcelona are hoping to land Alexander-Arnold on a free.

As things stand, Hughes, headhunted by Michael Edwards, is 0/4 when looking at his to-do list this summer having failed to land his primary transfer target in Zubimendi while sorting zero contract renewals.

And these things could be tied.

Because if you can't attract top tier talent, how do you expect to retain top tier talent? Why would Alexander-Arnold give the Reds his prime years when there's a world in which Van Dijk, Salah, Alisson, and Andrew Robertson all leave over the next year or so?

Liverpool are famed for their performance-related deals. They work when players know the team is going to be competitive. It is a hard sell when nobody knows the next time the Reds are going to challenge for silverware.

Disastrous window will shape season

At the start of the summer, this squad needed the odd reinforcement to be in a position to challenge for the title. They could soon need major surgery to stay competitive after what is shaping up to be a disastrous transfer window.

The Reds pride themselves on not being bullied in the transfer market. They won’t pay over the odds. They won’t buy someone for the sake of it. And, on one hand, that should be applauded. It is a good stance to have when you’re the best.

But do you think that influences players at all when they’re weighing up their future with the club?

Alexander-Arnold isn’t going to put the ‘Liverpool pretend not to be bullied in the transfer market’ in the pros category when deciding what to do, is he? He’s going to stick ‘continuously head into a season undercooked squad wise’ in the cons column.

Because he’s going to remember all of those times the Reds missed out on a top target and simply refused to pivot to someone else, leaving the squad in a weak position. He’s going to remember those seasons when the Merseyside club wasted having the like of Salah, Alisson, Van Dijk and others in their peak.

This window doesn’t just shape Liverpool’s 2025/26 season. It has the potential to shape the Slot era. Hughes news to salvage it, and ASAP.