Hughes has signed:
Tavernier for 10m
Semenyo for 10m
Kerkez for 13m
Zabarnyi for 20m
Senesi for 13m
Christie for 2.5m
Kluivert for 8m
Aarons for 8m
All deals represent ridiculously good value for money.
Even his more ‘debatable’ signings-
Dango- played a pivotal role in our survival last season, played a starring role in the wins against both Liverpool and Spurs and it’s easy to forget he put in a number of good showings playing as a right sided attacker. This year he has also shown himself to be a very capable left back too. For me he’s been a good signing and has so much scope to improve.
Adams- Iraola himself said that we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sign Adams if he wasn’t suffering with his injury at the time, Chelsea were prepared to sign him if he had been fit remember. The club took the decision to sign the player even though they knew he’d be unavailable for a few months as they felt his calibre made him worth it. We don’t know who made that decision but I think a fair assumption would be that the final decision was made by Foley, not Hughes.
Scott- is widely renowned as one of the most promising midfield prospects in the game. He may not have fully established himself yet but it’s highly likely that he will and that we will make a huge profit on him.
Sinisterra- a proven PL level winger. Had shown he had the ability to perform very well at this level during his time at Leeds. It can’t be understated how difficult it is for a club of our stature to recruit players who are proven in the PL. The one qualm is that he doesn’t seem to fit Iraola’s system so I can understand why some may view this one as more than a miss. Myself I also struggle a bit to understand why we paid 20m for a player who isn’t really a viable starting option under the current manager, regardless of how talented he is.
Traore- easy to forget that Traore has only made around 10 appearances in the league for us. He has some bright moments under O’Neil but never really had a chance to get going. He is definitely a miss but more a victim of circumstance rather than poor recruitment, he’s clearly not a bad player but he just doesn’t fit into the new manager’s very unique way of playing. Had we stuck with O’Neil I think he’d be starting most weeks.
It’s unfair to say that Hughes is anything other than good at his job if you look at the underlying circumstances and facts behind all his signings.