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Liverpool’s newly appointed sporting director Richard Hughes says it is the “present and future which really excites” him about the club.

Hughes will officially take up the role when he leaves his post as Bournemouth’s first-team technical director at the end of the season.

Hughes has been headhunted by former Reds sporting director Michael Edwards, who was recently appointed as chief executive of football at FSG, who own Liverpool.

Speaking to the club website, he said: “People rightly talk about the rich history this organisation can boast, but it is the present and future which really excites me. Jurgen Klopp is leading an outstanding team and squad and alongside that the commitment to young players and their pathway to the first team is also outstanding.

“I am fully aware of the expectations and responsibilities that come with taking this position. It will be my job, working with Michael [Edwards] and leading the football operations team already in place, plus the wider staff at the AXA Training Centre, to make good decisions.

“That’s really what the job entails: you have to make the kind of good decisions which enhance the prospects of having a team that wins and excites the supporters. It is what Liverpool have done well for a very long time and the benefits are there for everyone to see.”