Richard Hughes can save Liverpool millions with transfer decision on two players

Richard Hughes faces a busy few months in his first summer transfer window as Liverpool's sporting director.

The Reds have had a quiet window so far, with no new signings being made in the first few weeks. Six players have left the club, though, with Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Adrian, Melkamu Frauendorf, Mateusz Musialowski and Anderson Arroyo all leaving Anfield on a permanent basis, with Thiago announcing his retirement from professional football.

Rumours have continued to swirl around potential new signings that Liverpool could make this summer. New head coach Arne Slot is currently assessing his squad during pre-season at the AXA Training Centre ahead of his first season in charge.

Decisions will be made in the coming weeks over the futures of some players, and whether or not new signings will be needed to strengthen certain positions. New roles in the squad that have been subject to speculation are centre-back and goalkeeper, and two players already at Liverpool could have a role to play.

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Sepp van den Berg and Viteszlav Jaros are taking part in pre-season training in Kirkby with the Reds and will be aiming to stake a claim to be part of Slot's first-team squad next season. A report from The Athletic has stated that the duo are already showing signs of being involved in the matchday squad next season.

After Adrian's departure as a free agent, the report states that Jaros has been promoted to third-choice goalkeeper behind Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher. The Reds have been linked with signing a new shot-stopper in recent weeks, but those rumours are likely to quieten down after Jaros' promotion.

Van den Berg has also previously been linked with a move away from Liverpool. The report claims, though, that the defender has impressed Slot during the early days of pre-season and could have a future at Liverpool.

Centre-back is an area of the squad that has seen plenty of transfer speculation this summer. The article claims that offers have already been rejected from Mainz and Wolfsburg for Van den Berg, with the player valued at £20 million.

Should Van den Berg and Jaros become first-team squad players next season, that could save Liverpool millions of pounds in the transfer market. In Van den Berg's case, he would join Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah as the centre-back options at the club.

It remains to be seen if Liverpool believe a new signing is still needed in that department. The inclusion of Van den Berg and Jaros in the squad next season, though, is guaranteed to give the Reds more financial room to work with when it comes to strengthening their squad this summer.