According to reports from Saudi Arabia, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has reached an ‘agreement’ to take on a similar role with a club in the Middle Eastern country from the summer of 2026.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYThe Scot took up his current position at Anfield two years ago after leaving Bournemouth, overseeing almost £450m worth of new signings in last summer’s transfer window whilst also brokering contract extensions for Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch in the past 12 months.However, if fresh claims which have emerged over the last 24 hours are to be believed, the 46-year-old mightn’t be at LFC for much longer.Al-Hilal reportedly reach ‘agreement’ with HughesOn Monday night, Saudi Arabian journalist Ahmed Al-Ajlan took to X to report that Al-Hilal have reached an ‘agreement’ with Hughes to take on the sporting director role with the Riyadh-based club.It’s claimed that both parties have agreed terms for the move and a contract is merely awaiting to be signed. The current Liverpool chief is purportedly set to begin working with the Saudi Pro League outfit immediately ahead of offically ‘starting his duties’ in the summer.Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustCould Liverpool soon need another new sporting director?The first thing we’ll state is that this story is to be taken with a pinch of salt for now unless it’s corroborated by top-tier sources closer to Merseyside, so we’d advise against jumping the gun just yet.However, the same Saudi Arabian course did report last Halloween (via X) that Al-Hilal were in ‘advanced negotiations’ to try and recruit Hughes, so it’d appear that this latest rumour hasn’t emerged completely out of the blue.If there is substance to it and the 46-year-old is genuinely considering an exit from Liverpool for the Saudi club, it’d continue the trend of instability in the sporting director role at Anfield, which has seen multiple changes over the past four years.Since Michael Edwards’ departure from that position in 2022 after six years in the job, Julian Ward and Jorg Schmadtke both came and went in the space of 20 months before the appointment of Hughes.Liverpool sporting directors since 2016FromToMichael EdwardsNovember 2016June 2022Julian WardJune 2022May 2023Jorg SchmadtkeJune 2023January 2024Richard HughesJune 2024presentThe incumbent has received criticism from some corners of the LFC fan base over his performance in the role since arriving from Bournemouth, although it wouldn’t be the most ideal scenario for FSG to be left needing yet another successor less than three months out from the summer transfer window.Let’s see if any top-tier sources corroborate these initial reports in the meantime.The post Journalist claims ‘agreement’ has been reached over high-profile Liverpool exit to Saudi Arabia appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.