As Liverpool's continued search for a new sporting director goes on, a brand new name has been linked with the vacant position at Anfield.
Bournemouth's current Technical Director Richard Hughes recently announced he will leave the Vitality Stadium at the end of the season which has sent the rumour mill into overdrive.
Hughes, 44, called time on his career as a defender ten years ago and has since enjoyed success helping the Cherries to remain primarily in the Premier League over the last eight years.
Who is Richard Hughes?
Born in Scotland, Hughes grew up in Italy and began his career as a youth player at Serie A side Atalanta. He reportedly speaks three languages.
He enjoyed two playing spells with Bournemouth from 1998-2002 and 2012-2014 but will be largely remembered for his time with Portsmouth.
Hughes was part of the 2008 FA Cup-winning side that beat Cardiff City in the final.
Having hung up his boots in 2014 he first helped Eddie Howe with recruitment at Bournemouth and then progressed up the ladder to become Technical Director at the club.
Which players has he scouted?
He has claimed impressive signings during his time on the south coast, such as Aaron Ramsdale, Callum Wilson and Dominic Solanke.
Nathan Ake and Arnaut Danjuma are also names that have passed through Bournemouth over the last few seasons, with Hughes playing a role in maximising their sell-on fees.
Tyrone Mings was also sold to Aston Villa back in the 2019/20 campaign for a tidy profit and went on to make establish himself as an England squad regular.
What does he look for in a player?
Hughes outlined what he looks for in players during an interview with Bournemouth back in May 2019. His comments on the different facets he looks for will serve as an exciting lookout for Liverpool fans who will be wondering if his next job will be at Anfield.
He said: "Here, character and attitude is such a huge aspect of the players we have and the culture that Eddie’s instilled at the club. That means that finding information out about a player beyond what you can see in the 90 minutes is more important.
"That’s something which we’ve always been big on but we’ve increased our efforts in finding out as much as we can about the individuals that we’re bringing into the building.
“It’s not a science, because in very few cases can you answer exactly what a player is going to be like under a manager at a club at a given time, as well as all the circumstances that affect the happiness, mood and performances of a player.
“They’re all things that to an extent aren’t in your control but you have to have as much information as possible when you make that signing – and hopefully as we’ve gone on and got more experienced in this side of things we’ve been able to do that better than when we started.”
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