Liverpool chief will live or die by bizarre Xabi Alonso decision

Is Richard Hughes brave or stupid? He can’t be neither, but he might be both.

The Liverpool sporting director was certainly bold last summer when he oversaw a huge recruitment spend, the Reds twice breaking their transfer record while seeking to strengthen from a position of authority as Premier League champions.

That they defended their title so feebly after spending over £400million has seen some take a rather dimmer view of Hughes.

But most Liverpool fans have reserved their ire for Arne Slot, the manager pinned as the biggest problem during a season that could yet see the Reds miss out on a place in the Champions League. Or claim a place with the lowest ever total.

There is plenty of blame to spread around Anfield. Like the fans, the players don’t seem impressed with their manager, especially Mo Salah, though Salah and his team-mates might want to look in the mirror before they point too many fingers at the manager.

But it is undeniable that Slot has exacerbated Liverpool’s problems. Too often, the Reds’ issues have been structural more than individual, which makes the manager very vulnerable.

Especially when, since January, his obvious replacement was right there.

While Liverpool have been stinking out 2026, Xabi Alonso was free and willing to return to Anfield to take the reins from the rapidly sinking Slot.

It is not often in football that the stars align but, for Liverpool, it seemed they had. Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January, since when it has become increasingly apparent that the club, not the manager, was the problem.

Liverpool had their chance to hire a boss they initially wanted to replace Jurgen Klopp in 2024, at the same time lifting the gloom that has descended on Anfield during 2026.

Only Hughes and his Liverpool boardroom buddies know why they chose to look a gift horse square in the mouth, in the process allowing Chelsea to reclaim some credibility with an appointment few thought they had in them.

Because if Liverpool wanted Alonso, there is no way he would be now be plotting to bring them further down next season as Chelsea boss.

Maybe the Liverpool hierarchy still holds a grudge against Alonso for passing up the chance to follow Klopp in 2024; such pettiness should really be beyond them.

Hughes and FSG’s head of football Michael Edwards simply need to hope that Liverpool’s manager next season outperforms Alonso. Otherwise heads ought to roll.

Ignoring Alonso suggests the board’s faith in Slot is more resolute than the fans’. Because very few managers – at any club, let alone one like Liverpool that prides itself on closing ranks around each other – succeed in winning back a fanbase as lost as Liverpool’s to the manager right now. Especially when the players’ thinking seems to align with the supporters’.

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It could be that Hughes and co. have other ideas. Perhaps neither Alonso nor Slot will manage Liverpool next season. Andoni Iraola, the manager who Hughes hired for Bournemouth, is available and despite the guru-like mystique around sporting directors generally – exacerbated by the fact they operate in the shadows – it so often reverts back to ‘who’ more than ‘what’ they know.

Few will know Iraola better than Hughes but what the Liverpool chief, nor anyone else, can possibly say for certain is how the former Rayo Vallecano and Bournemouth boss can adapt to the ultra-harsh spotlight at the very highest level.

That lack of experience on the very highest stages, certainly compared to Alonso, would make Iraola a punt on Hughes’ part.

Still, it did not seem to hamper Slot last season. Perhaps Alonso feared being the man to follow The Man but Slot seized his opportunity and made succession seem a doddle by winning the Premier League title.

But this season suggests Liverpool were still running on Klopp’s fumes. Slot wisely saw no need to immediately stamp his mark on the Reds, instead opting to soothe Liverpool through the type of transition that many managers have previously bungled with a heavier hand.

Slot, naturally, saw that success as vindication to start doing things his way. Indeed, title success made everyone at Liverpool feel rather sure of themselves – manager, players, board. Which has brought them to this wretched point.

Inevitably, the manager is most vulnerable from Liverpool’s failings this season. But how he handles the situation around a manger who has lost the faith of fans and players will be the measure of Hughes.

In ignoring Alonso, much to the bemusement of most, the sporting director at least has the courage of his convictions. We’ll see very soon how smart he really is.

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