Fabrizio Romano has suggested that Liverpool could be close to finalising an appointment for one major boardroom vacancy at Anfield.
Jorg Schmadtke’s departure at the end of the January transfer window has left the Reds without a sporting director in the meantime, but the wait to fill that role may soon be over.
The Italian tweeted in the early hours of Sunday morning that Michael Edwards’ proposed return to the club in the capacity of overseeing football matters is ‘imminent’, and in turn that could pave the way for outgoing Bournemouth chief Richard Hughes to come on board too.
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In his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, Romano wrote: “Liverpool are close to bringing Michael Edwards back to the club after the Reds’ final attempt was exclusively revealed by me. It’s imminent – the final details are being discussed – but for sure, Liverpool are now very confident.
“Richard Hughes is also ready to accept and join Edwards as part of Liverpool’s new structure.”
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Hughes and Edwards have a very positive working relationship dating back to their mutual time at Portsmouth, and Liverpool’s former sporting director is understood to have been highly impressed by the 44-year-old’s work in that role at Bournemouth (The Athletic).
With the Ludonautics consultant seemingly on the verge of returning to Anfield, that could hopefully see the ex-Pompey midfielder fill the void left by Schmadtke’s winter exit, in turn accelerating the search for a managerial successor to Jurgen Klopp.
Aside from the strong ties between Edwards and Hughes, the latter’s eye for a shrewd transfer coup at the Vitality Stadium also struck a chord at Anfield, with the £19m paid for Dominic Solanke in 2019 now looking like a bargain.
Liverpool would’ve been most eager to get the sporting director situation sorted by Easter so that, come the end of the season, a coherent structure would be in place behind the scenes to appoint a new manager and devise a recruitment strategy for the summer transfer window.
With Hughes seemingly ready to take the reins, hopefully it won’t be much longer before he’s confirmed as Schmadtke’s successor.