Liverpool's Richard Hughes Set for Exit as Tomori Emerges on Transfer Radar

Richard Hughes is heading for the exit at Liverpool at the end of the summer window, and his next stop is Al-Hilal. Two years at Anfield, one record-breaking market, a handful of inspired deals and a few that never got off the ground – and now his time is almost up.

If this really is his farewell act on Merseyside, it doesn’t feel like the finale has landed yet. Not quite. But one name now dangling on the market could change that mood in an instant.

Tomori hits AC Milan exit list

Liverpool’s flaws last season were brutally simple: their defence cracked. Injuries piled up, form collapsed, and what should have been a title push turned into a scramble just to cling onto a Champions League place.

Arne Slot paid with his job. His brief spell ended under a cloud and Liverpool turned to Andoni Iraola, a coach whose intensity and front-foot ideas echo some of the principles that made Jurgen Klopp’s era so powerful.

Iraola has already started to bend the club’s recruitment towards the obvious problem areas. Ronald Araujo has arrived to stiffen the back line and shift the tone. Now, the market has thrown up another opportunity that feels almost scripted.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Fikayo Tomori is officially on AC Milan’s exit list and available for transfer.

“Fikayo Tomori has been included into AC Milan exit list today; he's available on the market,” Romano reported, adding that the decision followed talks between coach Ruben Amorim and chairman Gerry Cardinale.

For Liverpool, who have tracked Tomori for a long time, that timing is hard to ignore.

A ready-made solution at the back

If Liverpool finally move and get Tomori through the door, their defensive rebuild suddenly looks close to complete.

At 28, the England international is in his prime and has spent the last few years battling in Serie A, where AC Milan trusted him at the heart of their defence. The club may now be ready to move him on, but that doesn’t erase what he has shown: there is still a reliable, high-level centre-back there.

Like Araujo, Tomori would inject experience and composure into Iraola’s back line. His availability record is another major tick – Liverpool cannot afford another season where their defensive core spends more time in the treatment room than on the pitch.

There’s also the homegrown factor. Tomori’s status under Premier League and UEFA rules is a huge advantage, giving Liverpool valuable flexibility when it comes to squad registration and long-term planning.

That, of course, will not go unnoticed. Several English clubs are expected to circle precisely because of that homegrown label.

But if it comes down to ambition, stage, and the chance to anchor a rebuilt defence at Anfield, Liverpool should fancy their chances. For Hughes, staring at the final weeks of his Liverpool stint, this is the kind of deal that would let him walk away not with a whimper, but with a statement.