Although Michael Edwards is not going to formally begin his job as CEO of Soccer at Fenway Sports activities Group till June 1, there are a selection of urgent issues at Liverpool.
After ongoing talks between Edwards and FSG in latest weeks, the 44-year-old has now taken up a place throughout the possession group itself.
Previously Liverpool’s sporting director, his job title is now CEO of Soccer, which is able to see him oversee all soccer operations each at Anfield and past.
The first focus, in fact, will likely be on the Reds, who discover themselves at a pivotal juncture this summer time as a legendary period involves an in depth.
Listed below are 5 key priorities for Edwards as he makes his return to Liverpool.
Appoint a brand new sporting director
This primary precedence is extra like a formality: Liverpool are anticipated to announce the arrival of Richard Hughes as sporting director in the direction of the tip of the season.
Hughes’ appointment was contingent on Edwards taking the job, with the pair thought of shut buddies having first met whereas working collectively as participant and analyst respectively at Portsmouth.
The 44-year-old is already confirmed to be leaving his place as technical director at Bournemouth, and is all however assured to be Jorg Schmadtke’s successor at Anfield.
He’ll work beneath Edwards at Liverpool, main the membership’s recruitment technique – together with a task in appointing the brand new supervisor.
Discover Jurgen Klopp’s successor
There’s a unusual discord between Klopp and Edwards as, regardless of the pair working collectively efficiently for a few years at Liverpool, the latter’s exit was claimed to be attributable to a rise in energy for the supervisor.
It’s maybe no coincidence, then, that FSG approached their former sporting director quickly after Klopp’s resignation grew to become public.
Certainly one of Edwards’ most necessary – if not, a very powerful – duties as CEO of Soccer will likely be figuring out and recruiting the fitting supervisor to take over from Klopp on the finish of the season.
Xabi Alonso is the front-runner, however there was hypothesis over whether or not one other candidate, Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim, could be most well-liked.
New contracts for key trio
It has been floated that, with Edwards returning, it might spell the start of the tip for the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
Each into their 30s, the suggestion was that Edwards’ opposition to handing ageing gamers contract extensions – as was the case with Jordan Henderson in 2021 – would shut down negotiations with the pair.
That may, in fact, be dogmatic, and there’s no proof at this stage that the brand new CEO of Soccer would block new offers for 2 of Liverpool’s most necessary – and persistently match – gamers merely attributable to age.
Van Dijk, Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all enter the ultimate 12 months of their contracts on the finish of the season – and negotiating new phrases with all three is important.
Change Vitor Matos
Although it could not seen as necessary from an out of doors perspective, the departure of elite growth coach Vitor Matos as a part of Klopp’s workers might have main ramifications for Liverpool.
Matos stuffed the position beforehand held by Pepijn Lijnders when he joined the membership from Porto in 2019, overseeing the pathway from academy to first staff.
It’s he who has helped clean the transition for the likes of Stefan Bajcetic, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Ben Doak, Bobby Clark and James McConnell, who’re all now real first-team gamers.
Lijnders as soon as remarked that Matos works so laborious it looks like he “has 32 hours in a day,” and discovering a alternative who can proceed the trajectory of youth growth at Liverpool is significant.
• READ: FSG should change unsung determine to protect Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool legacy
Establish the subsequent Mo Salah
Salah is definitely deserving of a brand new contract at this stage, as he finds himself on the cusp of an all-time Liverpool document of 20 or extra targets in all competitions for seven successive seasons.
However with the Egyptian turning 32 in June, the chances are high that his subsequent extension will likely be his final with the Reds.
Aided by the membership’s recruitment workers – together with Hughes, director of analysis William Spearman, head of recruitment David Fallows and chief scout Barry Hunter – the long-term seek for the subsequent Salah ought to be a magnet for Edwards.
Wolves winger Pedro Neto and Athletic Membership’s Nico Williams have already been touted as prospects.
