RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Fabrizio Romano confirms African star has agreed to join Liverpool
An African star has agreed to join Liverpool, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Let's be honest, this window has been a bit of a mess for Richard Hughes and his recruitment team. Saying things haven't gone to plan would probably be putting it mildly.
By this point, Liverpool would have hoped to have shifted some of their fringe players and brought in the reinforcements the squad badly needs.
In an ideal world, Yan Diomande would already be a Liverpool player. He'd be preparing to face Newcastle United on Sunday and getting ready for his first big season at Anfield.
But football rarely works that way.
Diomande turned Liverpool down for Paris Saint-Germain, only to reject the French champions in favour of Real Madrid. Instead of wearing red at Anfield, he'll be lining up alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate in Spain.
That has left Hughes scrambling for alternatives, particularly when it comes to finding a right-winger to replace Mohamed Salah. The frustrating part is that Liverpool have known for a long time that Salah's departure was coming, so there was plenty of time to get a successor lined up.
Yet with less than ten days left until the transfer window closes, Liverpool still aren't any closer to finding the Egyptian's heir.
And that's where things start to get worrying.
The longer this drags on, the fewer options Liverpool are likely to have. Clubs know the Reds are under pressure and, with the deadline getting closer, they're going to be even less willing to sell their best players.
The clock is ticking, and Hughes needs to find an answer quickly.
Hughes is going to have to take a few risks now.
Andoni Iraola made it pretty clear in his latest press conference that Liverpool need wingers. Not a winger. Wingers. Plural.
That might sound like a small detail, but it is actually pretty significant. You don't often see a Liverpool head coach make such a direct statement about what the squad needs, especially so publicly.
It feels like a message to the board and the recruitment team.
Iraola might look relaxed when he is standing in front of the cameras, but behind the scenes, there is no doubt the pressure is building. He needs this summer to go right, and so does Hughes. Liverpool need to get back to where they believe they belong, and that is not going to happen without giving the manager the right players.
Quite simply, Iraola can only work with the tools he has.
And right now, he needs wingers. Probably more than one. There are still other areas of the squad that could do with strengthening too, so Hughes has plenty on his plate before the window closes.
Whether he can deliver across the board remains to be seen.
At least there now appears to be some movement. More importantly, this isn't something that has suddenly been identified in the last few weeks. Liverpool have been working towards this for the best part of two years.
Now, they just need to actually get it done.
And it looks like they are in the process of bringing one right-winger in Yankuba Minteh to Anfield.
According to Fabrizio Romano , the African star has already agreed to join Liverpool with the Reds having agreed personal terms with the winger.
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