Former Scotland international and ex-Celtic target's 'crucial' role in major Liverpool transfer revealed

A former Scotland international has been praised for his ‘crucial’ role in Florian Wirtz’s record breaking move to Liverpool this summer - just three years after a move to Celtic collapsed at the final hurdle.

The 22-year-old had his £116million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen rubber stamped yesterday, with Wirtz now becoming the English Premier League’s record signing, surpassing the previous record transfer of £115million, which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023.

According to European sports outlet Bild, the German international is in line to earn a weekly salary of at least £325,000 at Anfield, and joins ex-Celtic full-back - and former Leverkusen teammate - Jeremie Frimpong as the Merseyside giants second major transfer of the summer window.

Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz will hope to win further trophies at Liverpool after departing Bayer Leverkusen this summer. | Getty Images

During his official unveiling by the English champions, Wirtz explained why head coach Arne Slot had played a big role in convincing him to move to Liverpool, but also reserved high praise for ex-Scotland international Richard Hughes, who has been hugely successful in his role as the club’s sporting director since his appointment almost exactly a year ago.

“The talks with the coach and Richard [Hughes] and everybody were, from the start or from the very first time, so good,” Wirtz told Liverpool’s official media channel. “It just kept going like this. Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club I felt like, ‘this is the place I want to be’ and so in the end I was really 100 per cent convinced I want to join Liverpool and it was the best choice.”

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano also heaped praise on Hughes, writing on his official X account: “The Liverpool director has been crucial to make the deal happen. Three months of hard work behind the scenes to get Florian’s green light in May and close the deal with Leverkusen on Tuesday last week.”

Glasgow-born Hughes, who won five caps for Scotland in the mid-noughties, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the game after landing the Liverpool the role last summer. Poached from a similar role at AFC Bournemouth, the 45-year-old has been lauded for his work in replacing popular former manager Jurgen Klopp with Dutch head coach Slot last summer.

Richard Hughes battles for the ball as Scotland Under-21s take on Belgium Under-21s at Dunfermline FC's East End Park. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602

Beginning his career with Atalanta’s youth team, Hughes enjoyed a moderately successful playing career, making over 200 senior appearances for the likes of Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth and Grimsby Town. However, it has been his work as a sporting director that has garnered the most attention.

First joining the Cherries recruitment team following his retirement in 2014, he was appointed the club’s technical director just two years later. Hughes found himself lined up for a similar role at Celtic in 2021, with the Hoops former managerial target Eddie Howe said to have been desperate to bring him to Glasgow if he was appointed manager at Celtic Park.

Howe, who was locked in advanced talks to take over from Neil Lennon in 2021, eventually backed out of the deal at the final hour, leading to Ange Postecoglou being named as the new Celtic head coach, and in turn ending Hughes’ links with a return to his native Glasgow.

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