While there is still plenty to compete for on the pitch this season, Liverpool fans will already have an eye on what is set to be a major overhaul at the club this summer.
The Reds may be fairly well stocked in terms of their playing squad, but there will be a lot of changes away from the field of play. Not only is Jurgen Klopp set to leave the club, the boardroom will also look very different after the arrival of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes.
Edwards will return to the club as the new CEO of football operations with FSG, with the Englishman set for an extended role at Anfield having previously overseen the first stage of the rebuild that took place under Klopp.
He will bring Hughes with him, with the Scot set to join Liverpool on June 1st. The 44-year old has spent a number of seasons as the technical director at Bournemouth and was credited as the driving force behind their impressive record in the transfer market in recent times.
While Hughes has not yet started his work at Anfield, he has reportedly already identified three players that he will allow to leave the club.
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New Liverpool director to allow three stars to leave club
Football Insider are reporting that Richard Hughes will allow Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, and Adrian to leave Liverpool this summer.
All three of those players are out of contract at the end of the season, meaning the club will not receive any transfer fees should they move on. However, it seems they will not offered new deals.
Joel Matip suffered a serious knee injury a number of months ago and is set to miss the remainder of the season. Jurgen Klopp said at the time that he hoped the club would 'show their class' by offering the defender a new deal despite his fitness issues.
That would seem like an unwise move considering his age and injury record, with the German's departure meaning that such a move would be unlikely to upset the new manager.
Thiago Alcantara has made only one appearance for Liverpool this season, coming on as a late substitute against Arsenal back in February. He would pick up another injury in that game that looks likely to rule him out for the rest of the season. Despite his talents, a new contract would make little sense for the the club.
As for Adrian, he is now 37-years old and has acted as the third choice goalkeeper for a number of seasons. The non-homegrown player spot in the squad that he occupies would likely be better utilised by another player.
These seem like three obvious moves, although it makes clear that Richard Hughes will not allow sentimentality to creep into his decision making as he allows some popular players to leave Anfield.
There are certainly some interesting times ahead at Anfield.
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