Liverpool fail in bid to bring key man back to Anfield, amid Jurgen Klopp exit bombshell: report

Liverpool reportedly made an audacious attempt to re-appoint former sporting director Michael Edwards over the weekend, following Jurgen Klopp’s shock announcement that he would be leaving the Reds this summer.

Edwards spent 11 years at Anfield, working as head of analytics before becoming Liverpool’s first ever sporting director.

In the latter role, Edwards oversaw some of the Reds’ most important signings of the modern era, including Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson – all of whom starred in the 2018/19 Champions League and 2019/20 Premier League triumphs under Klopp.

Edwards (left) was Liverpool’s sporting director for five-and-a-half years (Image credit: Getty Images)Edwards stepped down and left Liverpool at the end of the 2021/22 season, later returning to football with Ludonautics, a sporting advisory service launched by the Reds’ former director of research, Ian Graham, which currently works with League One club Bolton Wanderers.

However, in the wake of Klopp’s stunning announcement that he would be departing his position as manager at the end of the season, Liverpool tried to lure Edwards back to Anfield – according to transfer supremo Fabrizio Romano on X.

Romano claims that the Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), wanted the 44-year-old to oversee the club’s restructure post-Klopp. Edwards, though, is said to be ‘uninterested’ in taking on a senior role with the Merseyside giants.

Klopp put his decision to quit down to “running out of energy” (Image credit: Getty Images)When Klopp leaves his post in a matter of months’ time, it’s inevitable that many of his backroom staff will follow him out of the door.

It has already been confirmed that assistant manager Pep Lijnders and sporting director Jorg Schmadtke – who only took up his role in May last year – will be moving on.

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