Liverpool's sporting director search: Three priorities behind the title glare

Al Hilal did not release a photo of Richard Hughes signing the contract. But at Liverpool, people have noticed the sporting director's office sitting empty since the early days of summer. Last season, the club lifted its 20th Premier League title. Yet the man behind the squad structure walked away. The trophy still smells of grass, but the corridors of Anfield have grown quiet, missing the transfer deals that used to be closed early. Hughes arrived in March 2026, almost immediately facing the challenge of rebuilding the squad. Now he has chosen Saudi Arabia, leaving behind three priorities awaiting his successor. The pitch never lies; we just haven't been patient enough to listen.

Those three priorities are not on the front pages. They live inside the internal plan: a left-back who can genuinely compete with Milos Kerkez, a midfield reinforcement stretched across two transfer windows, and a commitment to stop letting key players leave for free. Kostas Tsimikas has been loaned out and is almost certain to be sold; Liverpool do not see him as the answer. Kerkez is still young, still talented, but not consistent enough to own the position. They need someone who can wait, not someone who simply sits on the bench. For the sporting director role, Julian Ward - an FSG figure - is seen as the internal option. Lee Dykes from Brentford is the external one. A new person might work alongside Ward rather than fully replace him. That says a lot: Liverpool do not want more disruption, but they are forced to change.

I have watched Kerkez in many matches. Some nights he ran as if he never knew fatigue; other nights he disappeared against a mid-level winger. Liverpool's issue is not whether Kerkez is good, but that nobody pushes him to his limits. A big club cannot leave a position at the mercy of inspiration. The midfield problem is more long-term. Liverpool are not rushing to buy an expensive name; they want to prioritise this area across two consecutive windows. That shows they are thinking in cycles, not patching holes. Several core midfielders are past their peak, and if they do not prepare now, they will face the same familiar trap two years from now: losing players when contracts expire. Liverpool are also targeting forwards like Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Bradley Barcola. That suggests they do not want to lose attacking power, but it is also an admission that the front line needs to be younger. Not every Hughes signing was a success. Some names arrived with high hopes but have yet to prove their worth. That explains why, despite the title, the sporting director's seat was never safe.

But what troubles me most is the free departures. Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold - all four left Anfield without Liverpool collecting a single transfer fee. They did not break financial fair play rules, but they made themselves poorer. Every time a player leaves for free, the wage bill drops, but the squad's strength drops too. To replace them, Liverpool must spend far more than they should have received. Liverpool do not lack money to buy; they lack a mechanism to keep players before contracts enter their final year. Based on my experience following matches, a team that has just won the title rarely needs to restructure immediately. Liverpool are doing exactly that, and it is the clearest signal: the trophy cannot hide the cracks.

The public usually looks at new contracts, at a shiny name on the negotiating table. But the loser in this story is not on the pitch; it is in the contract room. Last season's trophy masked a reality: the squad was quietly cracking, and silent farewells were the most expensive thing of all. People remember the name of the goalscorer, but I remember the run he made ten seconds before. For Liverpool, that run was the renewal negotiation that came too late, when everything was out of control. If they only look at the surface, they will buy expensive names to patch the gaps. But the root lies in the moment a contract has two years left, when the board still has time to sit down. When it reaches the final year, value disappears. The glory of the defeated is the light only those who stay behind can pick up. Liverpool just won the league, but they failed to keep the people who built that title. The next person will have to pick up the shattered pieces of trust.

We will soon know who takes the sporting director's seat. But what matters is whether that person has the patience to rebuild from the foundation, to keep what already exists before thinking about buying more. The heart still beats, even if the stands no longer applaud. Will the new person be calm enough to hear that beat?