Liverpool face battle to keep key backroom figure as Saudi Pro League target sporting director

Al-Hilal would like to bring in Hughes in the summer as the club's new sporting director, according to The Athletic. The Saudi Pro League club have been monitoring the Liverpool chief for some time and are expected to reignite their interest at the end of the season. 

Hughes has been highly influential at Anfield since joining the club. He oversaw the process to bring in Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp's replacement and also played a key role in Liverpool's transfer business last summer after winning the Premier League title. The Reds splashed out heavily on Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez but have struggled to impress in the current campaign. Liverpool currently sit down in fifth place in the Premier League table but are into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Hughes has spoken out about Liverpool's decision to invest heavily in the squad last summer. Speaking at the IMG x RedBird Summit alongside CEO Billy Hogan, he said: "As best you can, you have to detach yourself from what the transfer fee is likely to be. First and foremost, the identification of the right player for the right system for the right head coach has a fair amount of importance, and I think this is not something that’s necessarily new for the football club and its ownership. We pay what we believe to be fair market value for a player based on age and based on necessity of that individual to fit into the squad."

Isak and Wirtz have both struggled to live up to their lofty price tags but Hughes looked to the future when it comes to the team's expensive signings: “That would be very much the hope and in buying a player young, you give yourself the ability for that to be the case. We also want to try and win now, and that’s important as well, so I’m not describing them as works in progress or anything like that. These are players who have already done a lot in their individual careers. We talk about Florian and Alex, but Milos, Jeremie and Hugo are players that have achieved a certain level in the game already.”

Liverpool are heading into the summer and may be set to make some big decisions behind the scenes. Slot's future has generated plenty of headlines due to Liverpool's underwhelming form, with speculation he could depart at the end of the season. Talisman Mohamed Salah is another player who has been tipped to leave Anfield and potentially move to the Saudi Pro League.

Liverpool are due to take on Brighton in the Premier League before domestic action pauses for the international break. After that, the Reds take on Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the last eight of the Champions League.