From Dominic Solanke to Virgil van Dijk - Michael Edwards’ top 10 Liverpool deals

It was news that came as a shock to Kopites.

While attention was focused on possible transfer activity on deadline day, reports emerged that Michael Edwards could to leave Liverpool when his contract expired at the end of the season.

The Reds’ sporting director is somewhat of a mysterious figure, who stays behind the scenes despite being in a prominent role.

But he’s developed a cult status among supporters for the impressive work he’s carried out.

Arriving at Liverpool in 2011 as head of performance and analysis, Edwards climbed up the hierarchy before he was rewarded with a promotion into his current role by owners Fenway Sports Group.

Since taking up that mantle, he’s been fundamental to Liverpool re-establishing themselves as a European force.

The deals he’s brokered helped catapult the Reds to both Champions League and Premier League glory.

There have been plenty of incomings and outgoings under Edwards’ tenure. We pick out the top ten he’s been involved in.

10. Alisson

The Brazilian wasn't cheap. The £67 million paid to Roma in the summer of 2018 made him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time when he signed.

However, the No.1 spot had been a problem position for Klopp, with predecessors Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius failing to make the grade.

In fact, it was Karius’ disastrous performance in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final which prompted Alisson Becker’s arrival a couple of months later.

Alisson's proven himself as one of the best keepers in the world, helping the Reds win the Champions League and Premier League.

9. Jordan Ibe

The winger never lived up to his potential at Anfield following an encouraging start.

However, Edwards ensured that Liverpool squeezed every penny out of the Ibe deal when he was sold to Bournemouth in the summer of 2016.

The Reds netted £15 million, which was a club-record outlay for the Cherries at the time.

Ibe now finds himself without a club after leaving Derby County at the end of last season.

8. Harvey Elliott

The 18-year-old is still in the infancy of his Anfield career but he has the potential to go a very long way.

Liverpool decided to go to a tribunal to settle a fee with Fulham after his arrival in the summer of 2019.

A fee of £4.3 million was the outcome. It was considered an absolute bargain at the time and even more so now.

After two Premier League appearances already this season, Elliott could develop into a special talent.

7. Dominic Solanke

Liverpool opted to go to a tribunal after the striker turned down a new deal at Chelsea in the summer of 2017 to move to Merseyside.

It proved the correct decision rather than settling on a fee, with the Reds forced to pay their Premier League rivals just £3 million.

When Solanke was sold to Bournemouth in January 2019, Edwards earned Liverpool a reported £19 million - six-and-a-half times what they paid.

That was despite the former England under-21 international scoring just one goal in 27 appearances at Anfield. He now finds himself in the Championship with the Cherries.

6. Rhian Brewster

Another youngster who Liverpool made a significant profit on.

Brewster was signed from Chelsea before Edwards was made sporting director but he held out for a fee of £23.5 million when the striker was sold to Sheffield United in the summer of 2020.

That was despite Brewster never making a Premier League appearance for the Reds - and just four outings in cup competitions.

5. Sadio Mane

Liverpool coughed up £34 million for the winger from Southampton in the summer of 2016.

But the Reds have got every penny and more out of that purchase.

Mane's developed into a world-class forward at Anfield, scoring 26 goals in the 2018-19 Champions League-winning season and 22 goals when Liverpool claimed the Premier League the following campaign.

4. Andy Robertson

Signing a player who's career had taken him into the Scottish Third Division and had just been relegated from the Premier League was somewhat of a gamble.

However, the £8 million paid in 2017 proved to be an astute bit of business.

Robertson has developed into an indispensable player on Merseyside and is one of the best left-backs on the planet.

3. Virgil van Dijk

He might be Liverpool's record signing at £75 million but his impact cannot be overstated.

Edwards moved quickly to ensure Van Dijk joined the Reds in January 2018 ahead of what would have been a lengthy queue of suitors. The Dutchman has provided the sort of leadership Liverpool's previously brittle defence had been crying out for.

Under his guidance, Klopp's men recorded the best defensive record in the Premier League in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

2. Phillippe Coutinho

There were some fears when the Brazilian playmaker was sold to Barcelona for an initial fee of £105 million in January 2018.

At the time, he was Liverpool's talisman and had scored 12 goals in 20 games up to that point in 2017-18.

But since Coutinho's exit, the Reds have gone on to the next level after his sale funded the arrivals of Alisson and Van Dijk.

Coutinho, meanwhile, has struggled to make any real impact at the Nou Camp.

1. Mo Salah

Some questioned if the Egyptian could make the grade in the Premier League after failing to do so at Chelsea earlier in his career.

But since being signed for £43 million in the summer of 2017, Salah has been a class apart.

He scored 44 goals in his maiden season at Anfield - the second-highest total of any player in the club's history.

He's since hit at least 20 goals in every season since and is rightly in line for a bumper new deal.