Liverpool have agreed an initial three-month deal with Jorg Schmadtke to replace Julian Ward as sporting director, although the Reds are still to decide on his official title.
Sources in Germany have indicated to i that contracts have now been agreed with Schmadtke, the former sporting director at Wolfsburg, to oversee recruitment and work closely with Jurgen Klopp in what will be a crucial transfer window for the Reds.
Liverpool want to sign three midfielders to build on an encouraging end to a troubled campaign, and are pursuing Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister as well as Ryan Gravenberch, Bayern Munich’s Dutch international.
In what is being viewed as a sensation in Germany, Schmadtke – who is one of the most high-profile sporting directors in the Bundesliga – will now play a key part.
The 59-year-old is due on Merseyside this week to begin work on 1 June but the nature of the agreement suggests that both parties want to see how things work out before committing to a long-term deal.
Schmadtke’s role could be officially announced as a transfer consultant but he will be effectively the de facto sporting director in the coming weeks, working alongside Klopp and with influential scouts Dave Fallows and Barry Hunter.
After the summer transfer window the club will sit down with Schmadtke to decide on a way forward, with the possibility of extending the role to become a more permanent arrangement.
It’s understood that the club are continuing to source possible sporting director candidates in the background, which might open the way for Schmadtke to take a different role in the medium to long-term.
The German’s arrival opens the door to the possibility of further recruits from the Bundesliga and one name mentioned in his homeland is Wolfsburg’s promising youngster Micky van de Ven.
The 22-year-old centre-back is one of the division’s most sought-after defenders and sources close to the player have indicated that Liverpool are one of the clubs who have been tracking him.
‘Schmadtke won’t be taken for a ride’
By Michael Hincks, freelance sports journalist
Schmadtke, 59, will oversee a period of change at Anfield, with many incoming and outgoing transfers expected to take place this summer.
“He won’t be taken for a ride,” former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann tells i of the man who was supposedly going to retire after leaving Wolfsburg.
“He’s a very capable man, but it’s a big job because in a short space of time you need to bring players in. You need the money for one, and while Liverpool is still a big pull, you are competing with the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle, Real Madrid, Barcelona. It will be interesting but it won’t be easy.
“He’s done a great job wherever he was. The last few years he was at Wolfsburg and he said he wants to pack it in [and retire]. He said that’s it, he had somebody else in place, but did say well maybe in six months’ time the missus kicks me out the house because I’m at home too often, and then it might be a different story.
“If you get the opportunity to go to Liverpool you have to take it. He’s a very likeable guy and he knows his stuff. But he’s got to get to know the club now. The area, the people. He will know the players, but he’s got to get these deals over the line which won’t be easy because the competition is strong.”
The Reds look to have narrowly missed out on Champions League football despite a spirited late tilt for a top four place. It will take Manchester United to succumb at home to Chelsea and Fulham and Liverpool to beat Southampton to seal an unlikely return to Europe’s top table after Newcastle clinched their place last night.
But optimism is rising at Anfield after Klopp’s tactical experiments, including pushing Trent Alexander-Arnold into a more advanced role, appear to have paid off.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/f7o4IsA
Post a Comment