Edwards has ‘meeting’ to discuss Liverpool return; FSG learn what is required for director to ‘accept’
According to reports, former Liverpool director Michael Edwards had a ‘meeting’ with Fenway Sports Group chiefs in Boston at the end of last week.
Liverpool are searching for a new manager ahead of next season as Jurgen Klopp confirmed at the end of January that he would leave the club in the summer.
FSG set for a busy few months
Before an appointment can be made in the dugout, the Premier League giants need to appoint a new director of football following Jorg Schmadtke’s exit earlier this year.
It has emerged in recent months that Liverpool are hoping to tempt Edwards into a return to Anfield. The 44-year-old held various roles at the football club but was their sporting director between 2016 and 2022.
The Englishman was lauded for the work he did alongside Klopp but he has been out of work since departing Liverpool at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
In recent years, Edwards has been linked with a return to the Premier League with Chelsea and Manchester United interested. But Liverpool are now back in the picture and it was revealed at the end of January that ‘further talks’ were expected with their former director.
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A report from The Guardian now claims ‘Liverpool’s owners met Edwards in Boston on Sunday in their attempts to convince the club’s former sporting director to shape the post-Klopp era at Anfield’. They explain.
‘Fenway Sports Group’s principal owner, John W Henry, and president, Mike Gordon, were among the senior executives who held talks with Edwards about returning to the club he left in 2022. The 44-year-old, a consultant at the sports advisory business Ludonautics, is regarded by FSG as the ideal candidate to lead Liverpool’s transition when Klopp steps down after nine hugely successful years as manager this summer. However, the club’s owners will need to offer a more powerful role than sporting director to tempt Edwards back.
‘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.’
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Edwards “regards Richard Hughes very highly”
Journalist Ben Jacobs has indicated that Edwards is an admirer of Bournemouth technical director Hughes, who “won’t be off to Newcastle” following his exit from the Cherries in the summer.
“It’s true that Edwards regards Richard Hughes very highly. Bournemouth have confirmed Hughes will leave at the end of the season. Understand he won’t be off to Newcastle or Roma,” Jacobs tweeted.
“It was always likely FSG would make another push for Edwards, but still unclear if he’s changed his mind after rejecting the initial approach. Face-to-face talks easy to facilitate after Edwards chose to attend the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston alongside Ian Graham.”
