Richard Hughes is running out of time to fix Liverpool DISASTER

Richard Hughes had a difficult first summer as Liverpool sporting director. But did it actually far worse than anyone thought? The last two months suggest so.

The frustration at Liverpool - or at least, among fans - was clear for everyone to see over the summer. The Reds were coming off a season where things fell apart towards the end but the signs were there that things were close.

All they needed was a little push and a little help for new head coach, Arne Slot. He didn't get that. In fact, Liverpool delivered neither.

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There were two new signings in the end: Federico Chiesa and Giorgi Mamardashvili. Both had their downsides.

For Chiesa, he didn't have a pre-season with Juventus, was surplus to requirements there, and had a reputation as being fragile. For Mamardashvili, it was even more obvious: Liverpool didn't need a goalkeeper at all and wouldn't even add him to their squad this season.

Now, both also made a lot of sense. Chiesa is a massive talent that Liverpool picked up on the cheap - a Moneyball signing, essentially.

Mamardashvili is another fantastic player and potentially one of the world's best goalkeepers going forward. Potentially.

It's all gone wrong

Two months later the downsides of both deals look alarmingly apparent. Chiesa is injured again, with no timeline on a return - this is roughly the third time he's had a problem already.

There are serious doubts that he can handle the intensity of English football, especially on the back of zero pre-season. Are Liverpool actually going to get minutes out of him this season?

But on top of that, do they even need him? Chiesa has done nothing and yet the Reds have won 11 out of 12 to start a season for the first time in their history. There's no clamour to get him in the team.

Now there are even rumours that Liverpool could send him off in loan in January.

As for Mamardashvili, that's starting to look like £35m wasted - and that's nothing to do with him as a player. Instead, the decision to replace Caoimhin Kelleher looks like a bizarre one. He feels like the clear and natural heir apparent to Alisson Becker.

If Liverpool want to replace the Brazilian anytime soon, it should really be the homegrown Irishman. Why did the club feel the need to replace him? Why not loan him out for a year, if that's the grand plan?

The Zubiemendi chase

Of course, Liverpool did try to sign another player. They wanted Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and pushed hard to get him.

The player said yes! Then he said no. Liverpool were left without the one star they hoped to get after a failed chase that left them embarrassed and without any alternatives.

It wasn't a good look and the entire perspective of the failure has been saved by Slot's ability to turn Ryan Gravenberch into a world-class defensive midfielder almost overnight. Without that, we'd still be wondering how to convince Zubimendi that Bold Street has more to offer than the Ulia mountain range.

Saved, then?

And then there are the contracts

All of the above raises questions. The inability to re-sign any of Liverpool's top three stars dwarfs it all, though.

It's now neatly November and Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are a little over two months from being able to agree free transfers away from Anfield. They're the three highest-paid players at the club and the three the team revolves around.

Now, Hughes inherited a problem here. It's certainly nothing to do with him that the trio didn't have long-term deals before the summer.

But not getting any of them to sign is a disaster. It doesn't matter how you feel about their ages, their long-term values, or even what they're bringing this season.

The fact is, this team is on the verge of having its core ripped out. That needs fixing and is, quite honestly, worth whatever Van Dijk is asking for. It's likely worth whatever the three want combined.

Otherwise, Slot will need to rebuild his team after just one year. Liverpool will need to replace their most important players with zero incoming cash.

Things could turn around

Perhaps Mamardashvili really is the best goalkeeper in the world. Perhaps Chiesa will find his feet and become a valuable player.

Maybe Zubimendi is nowhere near as good as Gravenberch by the end of the season. And all three stars could re-sign with Liverpool.

But to come out of the summer, nearly two months from the deadline, and have nothing to show for it is remarkable. Things could turn around - or they could take a different, near-nightmarish turn.

Right now, the summer feels like a disaster and the worst possible start Hughes could have had to life as sporting director. So let's hope that positive turn is the one this all takes.

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