Liverpool: Futures of three leading figures ‘uncertain’ as Edwards ‘frustrated’ with ‘project dormant’
A new report has shed light on an ongoing conflict at Liverpool over a ‘dormant project’, with Michael Edwards feeling ‘frustrated’.
The 2025/26 campaign has been incredibly disappointing for Liverpool, who have made an incredibly weak attempt at defending their Premier League title and may not even qualify for the Champions League.
Several factors have contributed to Liverpool’s sudden decline, including the poor management of head coach Arne Slot, FSG’s misguided transfer decisions and the dire performances from players.
This could lead to Slot losing his job in the summer, with the Dutchman potentially needing Champions League qualification and/or a trophy to save himself.
But Slot is not the only leading figure at Liverpool who could move elsewhere, with recent reports claiming sporting director Richard Hughes is attracting interest from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
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Suggestions of an ‘agreement’ between Hughes and Al-Hilal have been quashed, but Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Middle East side are targeting the current Liverpool chief.
And a new report from The Athletic‘s Liverpool correspondent, James Pearce, claims Edwards, who is the club’s chief executive of football, is ‘frustrated’ at FSG ‘shelving plans to create a multi-club group’.
Edwards turned down several opportunities to return to football before deciding to accept a second spell at Liverpool in 2024, with the respected club chief admitting at the time that FSG’s “commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club” was “one of the biggest factors” in his decision to come back.
There have since been reports of Liverpool making moves to acquire another club, but this is yet to be completed and a source has informed Pearce that the “project is simply dormant”.
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A source told The Athletic: “The project is simply dormant. Nothing is currently happening that would suggest FSG are moving forward with acquiring a second club.”
As per the report, Edwards is not happy with this situation and his future at the club is ‘uncertain’. He, Hughes, and Slot are only under contract until 2027.
The report also noted that ‘it looks unlikely’ that FSG will ‘expand their football portfolio’ despite the ‘process of identifying a second club’ being ‘effectively complete’.
The report adds:
‘Extensive analysis was conducted on around 25 clubs with a strong focus on Spain, Portugal and France. However, no proposal got the green light from the FSG board, to whom Edwards reports.
‘There have been four occasions when insiders say discussions reached a point where it felt like a deal could have been done. Three of them have been well documented along the way: Bordeaux, Malaga and Getafe. The Athletic can reveal that the fourth was Monaco, with FSG holding talks in early 2025 with another ownership group about potentially joining forces to buy a minority stake in the Ligue 1 team.’
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