Liverpool source reveals Richard Hughes’ explosive two-word message on Alexander-Arnold saga
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contract saga is just one part of a chaotic situation Richard Hughes was forced to deal with after becoming Liverpool’s sporting director.
In spite of Liverpool securing only their second Premier League title of the modern era, the club required some serious work behind the scenes after their new sporting director joined the club.
Hughes joined the Reds in the summer of 2024, taking over from Jorg Schmadtke, who left Anfield at the end of the January transfer window last year.
The former Bournemouth man was tasked with identifying Jurgen Klopp’s replacement after the German decided to step down from the club.
However, according to a report from The Times, that was just one part of a chaotic situation the sporting director found himself in after joining Liverpool.
Richard Hughes impresses despite Trent Alexander-Arnold departure
According to the report, one insider within the club described the situation Hughes inherited from Schmadtke as a “[expletive] sandwich”.
The Englishman found himself not only needing to find a successor to Klopp, but was also facing the possibility of losing the club’s three most important players for free.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah both signed two-year extensions to remain at Liverpool, but only in April this year.
However, whilst Alexander-Arnold is now set to depart on a free transfer, there is reportedly no animosity at the prospect of a “valuable asset” leaving for nothing, and Hughes is viewed as having handled the situation impressively once he came in.
Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk deals more important than keeping Trent Alexander-Arnold
Football Insider Verdict
As surprising as it may sound, keeping Alexander-Arnold is not crucial to Liverpool this summer.
From an emotional point of view, losing their academy graduate and one of the world’s best right-backs is gutting, especially without a transfer fee to go with it.
However, the way Arne Slot sets up his team means that Alexander-Arnold will be much easier to replace than Salah or Van Dijk would.
| Season | Appearances | Alexander-Arnold assist tally |
| 2024/25 | 42 | 7 |
| 2023/24 | 37 | 9 |
| 2022/23 | 47 | 10 |
| 2021/22 | 47 | 18 |
| 2020/21 | 45 | 9 |
| 2019/20 | 49 | 15 |
| 2018/19 | 40 | 15 |
| 2017/18 | 33 | 2 |
| 2016/17 | 12 | 1 |
The 26-year-old was intrinsic to Klopp’s system, with their style of play tailored to having the right-back be the main creator in the side, but under their new manager much more of the build up play is focused through the midfield.
This is evidenced by Alexander-Arnold’s assist tally this season as the seven goals he has directly provided is his lowest total since breaking into the Liverpool team in the 2017/18 season.
With Conor Bradley waiting in the wings and Jeremie Frimpong available at an affordable price this summer, keeping their captain as well as their top scorer and best player was a smart move by the Reds’ hierarchy.