Premier League rivals have bowed at the feet of Michael Edwards as CEO eyes two more huge Liverpool deals

If Michael Edwards earned his vaunted reputation for Liverpool’s success during his time at Anfield, that is only half the real story.

During his time with the Reds, particularly the six years he spent as the club’s first sporting director between 2016 and 2022, Edwards established himself as one of the most skilled operators around, helping Jurgen Klopp build the kind of team that saw the team. win every top tier trophy available between 2019 and 2022.

While winning the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup, League Cup and FA Cup – as well as the UEFA Super Cup – the Reds also finished second with 97 and 92 points and were beaten by Real Madrid twice in this competition. 2018 and 2022 European Cup Finals.

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That sequence is why Klopp’s side have been widely seen as one of the best on the continent in recent years, and Edwards’ work behind the scenes has been crucial in helping. But for all the titles the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Andy Robertson – to name just four – have racked up during Edwards’ tenure, Liverpool’s ability to raise funds through sales has often earned them plaudits the former Portsmouth analyst. more private settings.

Such is Edwards’ position in the industry, in fact, that there is a story of a meeting with a Premier League counterpart who broke the ice by bowing at his feet in exaggerated appreciation for a particular transaction that made Liverpool’s bench to pay a healthy fee for a player. which was surplus to requirements.

Bids for Christian Benteke (£28m), Jordon Ibe (£15m) and Brad Smith (£6m) all looked as though Liverpool might have earned more than the player’s true value on the loose, but Bournemouth’s £20m pocket for Dominic Solanke was a deal that benefited all parties immensely in the years since.

Players such as Harry Wilson (£12m), Marko Grujic (£10.5m) and more recently Neco Williams (£17m) and Takumi Minamino (£15m) could appear good luck to Liverpool as a selling club, but there is a method behind them to trap. such large sums for those whose futures are clearly elsewhere.

For example, the club managed to secure £23m for Rhian Brewster in the summer of 2020 when he joined Sheffield United, largely due to market trends at the time. The forward scored 11 goals in 22 appearances during a half-season loan spell at Swansea City in the Championship and Aston Villa paid £28m for Ollie Watkins – the division’s 26-goal top scorer that term season – in the later transfer window, mostly informed. the tax that reds could command at the time.

The £17m fee for Williams when he joined Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022 was based on him being a full Wales international with 33 appearances for a team that is regarded as one of the strongest in recent decades at Anfield. . In the same summer, right-backs Aaron Hickey and Djed Spence moved to Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur for £17m and £20m respectively. In context, the figures are often fair value for what is happening elsewhere at the time.

On occasion, the Reds’ claims have led to interest cooling at times, with Nat Phillips seeing clubs leave in recent years after a fee was paid to the defender on Monday after his considerable efforts helped Klopp’s side win Champions League football. Burnley’s £12m capture of Nathan Collins from Stoke City encouraged the Reds to demand £15m and more for Phillips, but the centre-back remains on the books four years and three loans later.

The same could be said of Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi, for whom Liverpool wanted £15m in the summer of 2019 after a productive spell in Belgium on loan with Gent and Mouscron. Nigeria international Awoniyi scored 14 times in 38 appearances in 2018/19 and in a summer that saw Wesley, the Belgian league’s top scorer that campaign, move to Aston Villa for £22m from Club Brugge, Liverpool felt the fee set for their striker was fair. He was eventually transferred to Union Berlin for £6.5m.

The £20m figure that Liverpool have placed on Sepp van den Berg may seem prohibitive at first, given that the Dutch defender has made just four appearances since signing as a teenager from PEC Zwolle in 2019, but the 22-year-old has enjoyed a productive spell with Mainz. Bundesliga, where he played 33 times.

Van den Berg is reportedly attracting interest from the Premier League, and with Edwards back in the saddle at Anfield as FSG’s ‘CEO of Football’, the Reds are likely to do a tough job once again. The same will be true of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who revealed this week that he may be considering his own future this summer after a superb campaign.

“Playing against Man City at home (1-1 draw at Anfield in March) was another big thing for me with the rivalry between us,” Kelleher told The Athletic. “You’re not going to play in a higher profile. playing than that in world football and I thought I did really well. You think, “Yeah, I’m capable of doing this every week at a high level.” I got the taste for it and want to do it all the time. My main ambition is to be number 1.

“It would be great if that happened at Liverpool, but I’m not stupid. I know that Ali (Alisson Becker) has been the best goalkeeper in the world for years.

“I had a wonderful time in Liverpool. It’s been a crazy ride for me and one that I’ve absolutely loved. I love the club, I love the fans and I have a great relationship with the players and the staff. Whether it’s here at Liverpool or somewhere else, I feel the next step for me is to be No.1.”

It is not clear exactly how much Liverpool will ask for Kelleher if he is to move away, but the club rejected a bid from Forest in January and senior figures later described the proposal as derisory and given Having seen the Irishman’s campaign – which saw him play 26 times in all competitions which included a Carabao Cup final triumph – Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes are well placed to demand top dollar for their No.

So while athletic directors like Edwards and now Hughes will earn their mark in the eyes of fans through the success they receive, how adept they are at raking in as much as possible for the revenue that will allow Arne Slot to be with true. reshape Liverpool.