Liverpool makes major decision on executive who spent a fortune on Milos Kerkez

Milos Kerkez can thank Richard Hughes for two major moves, but the Hungarian left-back has not yet repaid the faith Liverpool placed in him. Hughes first took him to the Premier League in 2023, signing him for Bournemouth for €20.5 million. Two years later, he brought Kerkez to Liverpool for almost €47 million.

The large fee has brought heavy scrutiny. Kerkez has not fully justified the investment with his performances at Liverpool, and criticism of the defender remains frequent in England.

The Times offered a mixed assessment of Hughes's work. The sporting director has recruited a large group of young, highly valuable players who could eventually form an excellent team. Yet despite Liverpool's spending, the squad has not become more balanced in every position. The newspaper said only time will show whether the £670 million rebuild becomes a success or a failure.

What is already clear, the article argues, is that Hughes moved away from the path Jürgen Klopp set after the German's departure in 2024. Klopp had effectively combined the sporting director's and coach's responsibilities as manager. Liverpool then began buying extremely expensive players, with the four most expensive signings in the club's history arriving during the following two years. Homegrown players moved to the margins, symbolized by Curtis Jones's summer departure. This season is the first in Liverpool's history without a locally born player in the first-team squad.