Richard Hughes hasn’t even officially started at Liverpool yet and he’s already got his hands full.
The Reds new sporting director will have known exactly what he was signing up for of course, but he now needs to really ramp up his efforts to hire a new manager.
Hughes is the man who has been tasked with finding Liverpool’s replacement for Jurgen Klopp. It’s a near-enough impossible job really, but there are still plenty of good options out there for the Reds.
The 44-year-old has also shown his capabilities as a recruiter in the past. Described as an ‘elite-level operator’ by those who have worked with him, Hughes’ good work at Bournemouth was in evidence once again last night. Andoni Iraola is doing a fine job with the Cherries.
A similar appointment at Liverpool would be very welcome indeed. And although there are one or two obvious candidates Hughes is reportedly looking at, he’s seemingly now set his eyes on an ‘outsider’ as well.
Richard Hughes targets outsider for Liverpool job
After Xabi Alonso’s surprise decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen for next season, the cat has been set amongst the pigeons in Liverpool’s new manager search.
Alonso had been viewed as the outstanding candidate and the most likely to take over from Klopp. That now won’t be happening.
As a result, a few slightly more interesting names are starting to appear in connection with the Reds. One of those is Bologna boss Thiago Motta. As he’s said to be well-versed in the Italian market, Motta has already been put forward as someone who is likely to be on Hughes’ radar.
And now, speaking to Give Me Sport, journalist Dean Jones has claimed that the 41-year-old is ‘intriguing’ Liverpool’s decision-makers.
“An alternative option for Liverpool could be Thiago Motta,” Jones explains. “Outside of the two main candidates, he has a very interesting football philosophy that is intriguing to many at Liverpool. Bologna play with a fluidity that is very rare. One thing that is important to Liverpool is that they have a football philosophy to follow but also that they play in a way that suits the squad and means they keep evolving.
“It’s important to stress that Motta is an outsider at this moment in time but that he is interesting to them. Key info on the appointment is that as we start this week, Amorim remains the top choice and sources in Portugal believe he would take the job. This is a difficult week to progress any deal because Sporting have two huge matches against Benfica that he needs 100% focus on.”
Why is Thiago Motta catching Liverpool’s eye
To some who purely focus on the Premier League, they’ll maybe be surprised to see Motta’s name come up here. The former Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSG midfielder never played in England throughout an illustrious career.
But if you look at what Motta is actually doing at Bologna, you’ll see that he could be a perfect fit. At 41, he’s a young manager and is only in his fourth season at senior level. However, he is already putting his mark on Serie A, leading his team to 4th place.
More than that though, Motta has a very clear and interesting view on how his teams should play football. Influenced by Marcelo Bielsa and described as being similar to Roberto De Zerbi, his team play a fast, attacking brand.
As things stand he should obviously be considered an outsider. But with this race very much open, we’d like to see Motta move up the pecking order. Keep your eyes on him.