Liverpool have been busy making some key behind the scenes appointments recently.
Of course, the blockbuster news is that the Reds are still actively looking for the right man to replace Jurgen Klopp as manager.
With as many as five candidates currently said to be in the running, Liverpool have work to do to whittle down their list and find the perfect candidate.
The man making that decision is seemingly Richard Hughes, the Reds new sporting director. Big boss Michael Edwards will surely have say as well, while Hughes has also recently brought in Mark Burchill as a scout from Bournemouth.
There was a further appointment yesterday, when Jansen Moreno confirmed that he’s joined as new head of opposition analysis. And if rumours were to be believed, Liverpool were targeting one more key backroom team member.
What were the rumours about Liverpool
Somewhat surprisingly, rumours started to surface that Liverpool were looking to make yet another hire to their recruitment team.
With Hughes said to be an ‘elite level operator’ and Edwards’ qualities well known, there didn’t seem a need for this.
Nevertheless, there were claims in the press that the Reds were targeting Southampton director of football Jason Wilcox to work in the new structure.
This would seem at odds with the people Liverpool already have in place. And, thankfully, journalist Fabrizio Romano took to his Daily Briefing this morning to dismiss the rumours of Wilcox joining the Reds. He’s going to Manchester United instead.
“Reports about Liverpool are not true from what I heard,” Romano reports. “Jason Wilcox is not going to Liverpool and never had a concrete negotiation with them.
“Liverpool have different ideas and Jason Wilcox only wanted Manchester United.”
Who is Jason Wilcox
There has been an apparent scramble to hire Wilcox on the back of the work he has done with Southampton and Manchester City over recent years.
The former Blackburn Rovers midfielder, 53, was only appointed to the role of director of football with Saints at the start of 2023. That came on the back of 11 years with City, where he was well regarded as the club’s academy director.
At United, Wilcox looks set to become technical director. Now, exactly how that would differ from Hughes’ ‘sporting director’ remit at Anfield, we’re not quite sure. So, we’re not really clear on why this rumour came about to begin with.
Nevertheless, Liverpool will have to be keeping an eye on Wilcox as United restructure themselves under new ownership. We’re happy with what we’ve got though, so we won’t be losing any sleep over this one.