Reliable journalist David Lynch has shared a significant update regarding Liverpool’s reported pursuit of a 53-year-old this summer.
All change at Liverpool ahead of Klopp departure
This summer promises to be one of the most important at Anfield in many years, with the upcoming departure of Jurgen Klopp set to leave a gaping void in the entire club. The German’s vast influence since he arrived in 2015 has been remarkable, and replacing him is going to be an almost impossible job for FSG.
While a new manager at Liverpool hasn’t yet been confirmed, the club have been making significant appointments behind the scenes, ensuring that the transition is as seamless as possible at the end of this season.
Highly-rated transfer guru Michael Edwards has returned to the Reds as their CEO of Football, while Bournemouth pair Richard Hughes and Mark Burchill will be joining him as sporting director and chief scout respectively, and Benfica technical director Pedro Marques is close to being confirmed to a new role as well.
It looks as though Liverpool want everything in place to make life as easy as possible for their next boss, with Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim now looking like the favourite to be Klopp’s successor after Xabi Alonso dropped out of the race, deciding to stay put at Bayer Leverkusen instead.
Journalist provides key Liverpool backroom update
According to the reliable Lynch for This Is Anfield, there is no truth in Liverpool wanting to bring in Jason Wilcox this summer, with the 53-year-old currently the director of football at Southampton. Instead, “the focus for FSG will now be identifying and appointing a successor to Jurgen Klopp as manager”.
It had been claimed that the Reds are providing stiff competition for Manchester United in the battle to snap up the former Blackburn Rovers winger, but this new update states that Liverpool have “no interest in adding Wilcox to their new-look recruitment team”.
It makes complete sense for the Merseysiders not to be in the race to acquire Wilcox’s signature, considering they already look to have a plan in place behind the scenes this summer.
Edwards, Hughes and Burchill look set to the backbone of Liverpool’s transfer operation, so bringing in another figure in a similar role would feel needless, while Marques is expected to work more on adding a new club to FSG’s portfolio.
Key Southampton departures under Wilcox last summer | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Joined | Fee |
Romeo Lavia | Chelsea | £55m |
Tino Livramento | Newcastle | £33m |
James Ward-Prowse | West Ham | £31m |
Nathan Tella | Bayer Leverkusen | £21m |
Mohammed Salisu | Monaco | £13m |
That’s not to say that Wilcox wouldn’t be a strong addition at Anfield – there is a reason why United are so keen on hiring him, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to copy the likes of the Reds and Manchester City behind the scenes – but the aforementioned appointments at Liverpool look excellent in their own right.
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Seeing Klopp leave at the end of the current campaign is going to be heartbreaking for anyone of a Reds persuasion, and his successor is going to find it so difficult to even come close to being as popular and influential, but it does feel as though the club are planning expertly for his departure, which can only be a good thing.
