Michael Edwards has agreed to rejoin Liverpool overseeing the club’s football operations.
Edwards first joined Liverpool in 2011 as head of analytics, when Kenny Dalglish was manager, before being appointed as sporting director in 2016, a year after Jurgen Klopp joined.
Before leaving in 2022, he oversaw 18 different signings. Here we assess the hits and misses from his first spell at the club.
Embed from Getty ImagesHITS:
Mohamed Salah (£37m), Virgil Van Dijk (£75m), Sadio Mane (£34m), Alisson Becker (£67m), Andrew Robertson (£10m),Georgino Wijnaldum (£25m), Fabinho (£39m), Ibrahima Konate, (£36m), Diogo Jota, (£45m), Kostas Tsimikas, (£11.5m) Joel Matip (free).
MISSES:
Naby Keita (£53m), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£35m), Thiago Alcantara (£27m), Dominic Solanke (£3m), Loris Karius (£4m), Takumi Minamino, (£7.25m), Xherdan Shaqiri, (£12.75m).
SUCCESSFUL SIGNINGS:
Edwards’ best signings helped end Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a league title and turned a sleeping giant into the champions of England, Europe and the world.
His first priority was to reinvigorate the club’s frontline. With Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling having departed, Daniel Sturridge hampered by injuries, and Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, and Fabio Borini not up to scratch, Edwards targeted strikers.
First in was Sadio Mane, who quickly formed a partnership with Roberto Firmino who had already been at the club before Edwards was appointed sporting director.
Embed from Getty ImagesA year later, Liverpool signed Mohamed Salah and thus created one of the most formidable forward lines in world football. During their five-year partnership, they scored 374 goals between them. Only Salah remains today, and the Egyptian has established himself as an all-time Premier League great.
Then came the midfield rebuild. Georgino Wijnaldum arrived from Newcastle and Fabinho arrived from Monaco after impressing during the club’s surprise Champions League campaign in 2016/17.
Following the shrewd sale of Phillipe Coutinho to Barcelona for £142 million in January 2018,, which Edwards deserves credit for, focus then turned to the defence. Liverpool had not possessed a world-class goalkeeper and centre half since probably Ray Clemence and Alan Hansen.
Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson have certainly emulated the abilities of those with how they transformed Liverpool’s defence. Edwards also spotted a gem in Andrew Robertson. Having been relegated with Hull City, Edwards knew his value would be low and he also proved to be an astute signing at just £10 million.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the final knockings of Edwards’ first stint at the club, he looked to add depth to Liverpool’s team in order to compete with Manchester City. Deals for Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig, Diogo Jota from Wolves and Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos all initially raised a few eyebrows, but they have since proven their worth to Klopp’s side and could still go on to achieve further accolades at the club given their age.
FLOPS
Of course, not all of Edward’s signings were a success. The standout misjudgement was Naby Keita, who cost the club £53 million. Having impressed with RB Leipzig, Keita arrived at Anfield with huge expectations but struggled with injuries, missing 122 games.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was another failed signing. Having initially flourished in midfield for Klopp, the Englishman was unfortunately hit with a serious ligament injury and never rediscovered his form.
The same can be said for Thiago. When Liverpool won the league in 2020, they added the serial trophy winner from Bayern Munich to bring added experience to the side. The Spaniard’s appearances for Liverpool have been sporadic owing to injuries and he is expected to leave in the summer.
Embed from Getty ImagesLoris Karius was also a disaster of a signing. His time at Liverpool has become infamous for his blunders in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. He has now become third choice at Newcastle.
Takumi Minamino and Xherdan Shaqiri were also underwhelming, having been brought in to offer backup to Liverpool’s attack. So too was prodigy Dominic Solanke from Chelsea. Even though he cost the club such a small fee, Solanke scored just once in 27 appearances.
Edwards new tenure at Liverpool is in a more senior role, so transfers will not be his priority, with Richard Hughes, formerly sporting director at Bournemouth, set to join Liverpool in a similar role
Fenway Sports Group view Edwards as the perfect candidate to put the right structure and personnel in place to guide the club through the post-Klopp transition, so his most important task upon arriving will be to identify and land a new manager.
