Richard Hughes is closing in on £40m Liverpool transfer - opinion

Richard Hughes may be closing in on a £40m deal after the events of this week.

The Liverpool sporting director hasn't really set the world alight since his arrival at the club. Hughes failed to address the glaring midfield problems last summer.

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Meanwhile, he's also failed to tie down the likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to long-term deals, much to the dismay of the club's supporters.

All three of them will be free to leave Anfield for pastures new at the end of the season if Hughes doesn't find a way to extend their deals.

And that's not the only thing he has to worry about this summer. There are going to be massive changes at the club, including as Anfield Watch exclusively revealed a major overhaul in Liverpool's attack.

But there is some good news. After the events of last week, Hughes might be closer to making a big sale this summer.

Richard Hughes one step closer to £40m transfer deal

In the January transfer window reports emerged that Liverpool were open to selling Harvey Elliott. At the time those reports claimed that the fee Liverpool wanted for Elliott was £40m.

Nobody made a bid for Elliott back then but things have been different for the 21-year-old since.

After his winner against Paris Saint Germain, he now has three goals in his las three Champions League games. And he's averaging 0.88 goal contributions per 90 for Liverpool in all competitions, only Cody Gakpo and Salah average more for the Reds.

All those numbers plus the hype from scoring the winner against PSG will be music to Hughes' ears.

Harvey Elliott Liverpool

At the end of the day, as impressive as Elliott has been when he has played, the fact that he has spent such little time on the pitch shows Arne Slot doesn't really fancy the midfielder.

Out of Liverpool's first team players only Federico Chiesa and Tyler Morton have played fewer minutes than Elliott this season. He's spent just 517 minutes on the pitch and with his 22nd birthday on the horizon these are not the kind of minutes he should be aspiring towards.

Elliott will know his value too and he will understand he might have to move on in order to fulfil his potential.

There's clearly an exciting talent there. A talent who has on more than one occasion delivered for Liverpool.

But there is just no room for him in this Liverpool team. Elliott simply doesn't suit Slot's system and that has been made abundantly clear.

At the same time, he has got a high value. Hughes will be pitching that to prospective buyers. He'll be showing Elliott's winner against PSG, the data that highlights his productivity.

Somewhere else Elliott can absolutely be a success and that is why Hughes should be confident that if Elliott continues to make his mark when he does get on the pitch, he will be able to sell him for the price that he wants.

That PSG winner just means Hughes is closing in on his desired £40m deal and that's a sale that could be of huge benefit to Liverpool's plans to overhaul the squad this summer.