Damien Comolli was not always the most popular man during his time at Anfield, but the one decision that simply cannot be argued with was appointing Michael Edwards, who is now the Reds’ main man when it comes to recruitment.
Comolli was the man who brought in Edwards, and the Reds have reaped the rewards ever since, with Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson just three examples of incredibly cheap players he has brought to the club, having identified them using analytics.
Speaking to the Independent, Comolli explained why he brought Edwards to the club in 2011, where he was initially ‘head of performance and analysis’ before he made the switch to being ‘sporting director’ in 2016.
Comolli said: “He is just someone who you are struck with how intelligent he is. That type of guy.
“He challenges the conventional wisdom because he’s got an analytical hat on. Why should we look at it in that way, when the data tells us that we should look at it the other way? That’s why I appointed him.
“Let’s say Salah was worth £100m, but they paid £40m. They knew, looking at the data, that the player was both undervalued by the selling club, and by the market in general. They knew exactly what they were doing.”
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Edwards has rightly become a kind of cult hero in the last couple of years for a series of sensational signings – he hasn’t got one wrong in recent times.
He might not seek the limelight, but keep producing deals as he has been, and he might not have a choice. Unearth another Salah and a statue should be commissioned!