​Liverpool already appear to have a replacement in place for the departures of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, as the fall‑out from recent events at FSG and Liverpool continues to unfold. The club’s plans for a smooth transition beyond Jurgen Klopp, which had seemed to be off to the perfect start, have become increasingly unsettled a year after Klopp’s exit momentarily made everything look rosy. Liverpool were champions one season after Klopp’s departure, yet the triumph now feels like a distant memory as the leading figures of the succession project have either left or are on the verge of leaving.
Arne Slot was removed from his duties as head coach, Michael Edwards resigned from his role at FSG after the owners failed to deliver the multi-club network he had envisaged, and Richard Hughes appears set to move to Al Hilal at the end of the summer transfer window. On the surface, that trio’s exits do not bode well for Liverpool. Slot’s tenure ended in disappointment, Edwards could not implement the project he wanted, and Hughes’ window of spending last summer produced little in the way of discernible results. Yet there remains a possibility that the past summer could still yield positive returns, with potential signings such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak still capable of becoming success stories.
There is no denying, however, that the club currently looks muddled. The strategy and direction feel unsettled. Liverpool no longer exude forward thinking. Plans are not being projected well in advance, and the club watched Mo Salah and Andy Robertson depart without ready-made replacements in place. Jeremy Doku had been touted as a potential successor to Ibrahima Konaté, but questions persist about whether one signing can truly remedy concerns about a defence that already needed depth and experience. Historically, Liverpool would not have allowed such departures without securing replacements or establishing a clear succession plan. There would have been a framework in place well before any player left.
Now, it seems the club has shifted away from a long-term, proactive model. That change isn’t surprising given that Slot and Hughes had only a short time left on their contracts—Slot’s and Hughes’s terms were nearly up, and Edwards’s tenure was not oriented toward a multi-year project at a loyalty level that would anchor the club for the long haul. They were not positioned to guide Liverpool toward a three- to five-year horizon; their futures lay elsewhere, and the club’s need for stability beyond the near term remained pressing.
Even with Hughes continuing to oversee current transfer activity, there will always be a layer of professionalism and a best-effort approach. Yet if a move to Al Hilal is already on the table, the impact of this summer’s business on Hughes’s future feels limited. Recruitment houses operate under heavy pressure, demanding leadership that has real skin in the game and bears consequences from a misstep in a transfer window. That is why the replacement for Edwards and Hughes is already, in effect, pre-identified within the club. Liverpool are believed to have made an internal decision about who will step into those roles, and the public move to welcome Andoni Iraola would be a signal, not only of intent, but of confidence in a restructured hierarchy designed to endure beyond the present upheaval.
The present situation reflects a club that has to recalibrate its approach to leadership and succession. The notion of a seamless, premeditated succession plan appears to be resuming its place in the club’s thinking, even if the outward signs suggest a period of transition that could stretch into the near future. In the here and now, Liverpool are navigating through a phase where the exit of key figures has tested the timing and execution of their post-Klopp strategy. The question remains: who will ensure continuity and stability as the club seeks to recover its footing and reassert its ambitions, both on the domestic stage and in European competition? If internal decisions have already been made, the club’s public-facing direction and the next steps will reveal how robust their long-term plans truly are.