It’s all change at Liverpool this summer as Jurgen Klopp calls time on his extraordinary spell at Anfield.
Klopp has been the figurehead of an extremely successful period for the Reds, in which they’ve won just about every major trophy available to them.
With the German departing in the summer, the club is going to feel very different. It’s been so long since Liverpool fans – and players – have known anything other than Jurgen.
But this is football and things move quickly. And with that in mind, the Reds have been told that they’ve just secured a perfect post-Klopp appointment.
Liverpool praised for summer business
The summer is still several months away in football terms. However, that hasn’t stopped Liverpool from getting some business done.
The Reds clearly have some major work to finalise over the coming weeks and to oversee all of that they’ve brought Michael Edwards back to the club. Edwards then in turn appointed Bournemouth’s Richard Hughes as sporting director, with the 44-year-old due to start at the end of the season.
Hughes looks a shrew addition to Liverpool. The former midfielder is reportedly held in very high regard by the wider football world and has been praised further by former Bournemouth head scout Des Taylor.
“Michael [Edwards] and Richard have spent many hours in each other’s company over the last 10 years,” Taylor, who is said to have worked ‘extensively’ with Hughes at Dean Court told BBC Sport.
“They know each other forensically, they understand each other, and most importantly they trust each other.
“Liverpool as a club and an entity have done very, very well to get that partnership. They are so compatible, they are both elite-level operators in all facets of recruitment and leadership. There is little doubt that their synergy will work well for Liverpool.”
What is Richard Hughes role at Liverpool
Although Edwards holds the more senior position within the Liverpool set-up, it will be Hughes who deals with the day-to-day running of the club.
That means that it will be the former Scotland international, not Edwards who takes the lead on securing Klopp’s successor.
Hughes is very much in Edwards’ former role. This means that issues to do with contract negotiations and any transfer dealings will fall under his remit.
In terms of Edwards himself, the celebrated analyst looks set to be the man who identifies and executes FSG’s proposed multi-club model. He will be there to support and potentially sign off on Hughes’ decisions for Liverpool, but the new man will clearly be given plenty of responsibility. We’re looking forward to seeing how it all works.