Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is stepping down at the end of the season. The Reds are steadily preparing to part ways with a world-class general. Before a new sporting director or commander, they are looking to bring back Michael Edwards, who once made his mark on player acquisition at Anfield.
There has been no colorful response from him, and he has reportedly been backpedaling on his reinstatement. However, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has not given up on the possibility and is committed to Edwards, who has the ability to lead the company into a new era.
According to The Guardian, Liverpool’s ownership team met with Michael Edwards in Boston on Sunday to try to convince the club’s former sporting director to build on the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield.
FSG principal owner John W. Henry and president Mike Gordon are senior executives who met with Edwards about returning to the club he left in 2022.
Edwards, 44, a consultant with sports advisory business Ludnotics, is seen as the ideal candidate to entrust Liverpool with a transition period when Klopp steps down this summer after nine highly successful years as manager. However, the club’s owners would need to offer Edwards a more authoritative role than that of sporting director in order to bring him back.
Edwards has repeatedly turned down approaches from clubs, including Chelsea, since ending his 10-year association with Liverpool and playing a key role in the club’s transformation under Klopp.
He turned down an initial approach from FSG in January about returning to Liverpool as sporting director in January, and it appears that in order to accept an offer of reinstatement, he would want to take full control in a broader position, such as head of the football operations department.
Edwards would lead the recruiting and analysis departments. He would lead the new sporting director and supervisory personnel. The club’s new structure is expected to take shape in the coming weeks.
FSG’s focus on Edwards’ reappointment is a sign of its confidence that he is the right man to usher in Liverpool’s next era. Since Julian Ward, Edwards’ former right-hand man and successor, abruptly announced that he would step down in the summer of 2023, the owners have been searching for a permanent director.
Jorg Schmatke was brought in last summer as a temporary measure to help Klopp rebuild and left at the end of the January transfer window. With Klopp’s departure, the requirements for a new sporting director have changed from someone who can work with a proven manager to someone who can handle a transition period.
Alonso is the leading candidate for Liverpool’s manager, but unlike Bayern Munich, the Premier League leaders would prefer to respect his efforts to win the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen rather than openly courting the popular former midfielder. The Spanish team commander is acutely aware of the Reds’ interest, but Sporting coach Ruben Amorim is also a candidate.