Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool contacted Michael Edwards in recent days to sound him out about a potential return to Anfield.
The 44-year-old was sporting director at the club for the majority of the Jurgen Klopp era and can claim plenty of the credit for overseeing some of the most successful transfers in the Reds’ history, with Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Andy Robertson among those signed on his watch.
The imminent departure of Jorg Schmadtke leaves LFC needing to find a replacement for that major off-field role, and it’s understood that Anfield chiefs reached out to the man who earned legendary status for his aforementioned off-field dealings.
However, any Liverpool fans who may have had their hopes up over the prospect of Edwards coming back were duly dealt a quick blow.
On Tuesday afternoon, Romano posted on X: “EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool have made contact with Michael Edwards over the weekend. FSG plan was to offer to be in charge of the restructure at the club. Understand Edwards has rejected #LFC proposal as he’s not interested even in a more senior role as of today.”
🚨🔴 EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool have made contact with Michael Edwards over the weekend.
FSG plan was to offer to be in charge of the restructure at the club.
⛔️ Understand Edwards has rejected #LFC proposal as he’s not interested even in a more senior role as of today. pic.twitter.com/j1OeQBHMV8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2024
If Edwards had been tempted to come back to Liverpool, it would’ve been the perfect antidote to the crushing blow of Jurgen Klopp announcing that he’ll be stepping down as manager at the end of the season.
Both Julian Ward and Schmadtke had fleeting tenures as sporting director following the 44-year-old’s exit from Anfield two years ago, so fans would most certainly welcome a sense of stability and longevity in that role from whoever takes it on next.
LFC are facing into a period of uncertainty with two of the most important positions at the club to be filled over the coming weeks and months, and it’s imperative that all the progress made over the past seven years isn’t undone in a much shorter timespan due to ill-fated hiring decisions.
It’s a shame that Edwards isn’t interested in returning to Liverpool at a time when his expertise and reliability would’ve offered huge reassurance to the fan base, but he owes us nothing after his stellar work in the boardroom when he was at Anfield previously.
We can only hope that whoever is appointed to replace Schmadtke will go on to enjoy the same level of success as the 44-year-old who helped to bring Salah, Van Dijk and Alisson to the Reds.