Liverpool journalist Simon Hughes has been discussing the Merseyside club’s sporting director Michael Edwards and his role at Anfield in regards to the scouting system at the club.
This comes after Hughes recently made an appearance on The Athletic’s Ornstein & Chapman Podcast where he spoke about a variety of topics concerning Jurgen Klopp’s side.
On the subject of Edwards and his role at the club in terms of the scouting system and potential transfers, Hughes had this to say on the matter.
He said: “He’s got a huge responsibility at Liverpool, he’s got the keys of the club, really. I mean, even the whole idea is that this system would work regardless of who the manager is, I think that’s what Liverpool want.
“It’s quite clear that Jurgen Klopp, without him, I don’t think it would have worked, I think they needed that frontman, the person who’s got the experience to drive the football team forward but behind the scenes, there’s obviously an extensive network of scouting, which, I think at this point in time, is much stronger than it was five years ago, not just because of the success of the football team, but just because of the element of time that over a long period of time, the club’s been able to build up this database that they have and have a greater understanding of which players suit what they need.”
According to the Liverpool Echo, Edwards works with Klopp to identify potential incoming signings for the club as well as organising player contracts. They also claim that Edwards has become “widely known by fans as a man who is influential in some of Liverpool’s best transfer business.”
Are you a fan of Michael Edwards?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Simon Hughes’ comments on Edwards…
In our view, with Edwards having been promoted to the position of sporting director in 2016 and the fact that since then, Liverpool have won the Premier League and the Champions League, this shows that the club have become one of the biggest clubs in England and Europe under Edwards’ guidance. Of the current squad, about half of the players have joined since Edwards’ assumed his present role (excluding academy graduates), proving just how important he is at the club, as Hughes said in the podcast.