Liverpool transfer news: Fabrizio Romano confirms African star can join Liverpool Fabrizio Romano has confirmed an African star is now free to join Liverpool. Richard Hughes is entering the final couple of weeks of what could be his last transfer window as Liverpool sporting director, and there is a lot riding on it. Liverpool are changing. There is a new manager in Andoni Iraola, new faces in the squad and even new minority shareholders behind the scenes. It really does feel like the club is entering a new era. But for all the talk about change, we haven't actually seen enough of it on the pitch just yet. That is where these final two weeks of the transfer window become so important. There is still a genuine expectation that Liverpool could be busy before deadline day. The squad has obvious weaknesses, there are players who could still leave and the club are continuing to work on potential additions. If Hughes can get some of those deals over the line, the perception of his time at Liverpool could look very different. Because, at the moment, it is difficult to know exactly what his legacy will be. Hughes deserves credit for being involved in the decision to appoint Iraola. If the Spaniard goes on to deliver success at Anfield, that will always be an important part of Hughes' record.
But there is another side to the story. Liverpool's squad was left looking seriously unbalanced last season, and Hughes has to take some responsibility for that. The recruitment was expensive and there were some big-name additions, but the squad still had glaring holes in key positions. That is ultimately what supporters will remember. It ultimately also lost Arne Slot his job and tarnished the Dutchman's reputation at Anfield. The players Hughes signed last summer could still prove to be excellent in the long run. It would be unfair to write them off after such a short period, and there is every chance some of them will eventually become important players for Liverpool. But when you look at Hughes' time at the club as a whole, there is a feeling that it never quite clicked. He was brought in to help build a squad capable of competing at the highest level, yet Liverpool have repeatedly found themselves going into windows needing to address the same problems. That is why there probably won't be too many tears if Hughes does move on. It isn't that supporters necessarily think he has been a disaster. It is more that his time at Anfield has left them feeling a little underwhelmed.
The good news for Hughes is that he still has time to change that. The next two weeks are massive. If he can fix some of the squad's biggest problems, bring in the players Iraola needs and get a few difficult departures sorted, he can at least leave knowing he finished the job properly. For now, though, Hughes still has plenty to do. And with the clock ticking towards deadline day, this is his final chance to leave Liverpool on a high. One of the big fixes fans want to see from now before the end of the season is a new right-winger coming in. Liverpool have set their sights on Senegalese winger Ibrahim Mbaye, who became the youngest African to score at the World Cup this summer. Mbaye is the perfect fit for Liverpool and there has been a significant update on his future. Fabrizio Romano confirmed on his YouTube channel that the African star now now leave Paris Saint Germain. With Liverpool leading the race to sign the 18-year-old, there is therefore now a good chance Mbaye ends up at Anfield by the end of the summer window.