The owners of Liverpool met with Michael Edwards on Sunday in Boston in an effort to persuade him to help guide Anfield’s post-Jürgen Klopp era.
John W. Henry, the company’s major owner, and Mike Gordon, the president, were two of the senior executives that spoke with Edwards about rejoining the team he departed in 2022. FSG believes that the 44-year-old, a consultant at the sports advising firm Ludonautics, is the best person to spearhead Liverpool’s transition when manager Jurgen Klopp stands down this summer after nine incredibly successful years in charge. To entice Edwards back, though, the club’s owners will have to provide a more significant position than sporting director.
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Edwards has rejected numerous approaches from clubs, including Chelsea, since ending a 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 regarding resuming his career as Liverpool’s sporting director and is likely to want total control in a more far-reaching position, such as head of football operations, to accept the invitation to return.
Edwards would be expected to head the recruitment and analytics departments. He would lead the appointments of any new sporting director and Liverpool’s manager, with Xabi Alonso the front-runner to succeed Klopp. The club’s new football structure is expected to take shape in the coming weeks.
FSG’s concerted efforts to rehire Edwards demonstrates its conviction that he is the best person to shape Liverpool’s next era. The owners have been searching for a permanent sporting director since Julian Ward, Edwards’ former right-hand man and replacement, unexpectedly announced he would be leaving in the summer of 2023. Jörg Schmadtke was brought in as a temporary measure to assist Klopp’s rebuild last summer and departed at the end of the January transfer window. Klopp’s decision to leave has changed the requirements for the new sporting director, from one who could work alongside a well-established manager to dealing with a period of transition.
Alonso is the leading candidate for the Liverpool manager’s job but the Premier League leaders, unlike Bayern Munich, wish to respect his attempts to win the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen rather than enter a public courtship of their popular former midfielder. Alonso is acutely aware of Liverpool’s interest but the Sporting coach Rúben Amorim, who has other suitors, is also under consideration.
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