Michael Edwards set to give Liverpool £40m reminder as new sporting director search continues

As Liverpool eras go, Kopites are enjoying one of the best in the club’s history.

While this season may have been underwhelming supporters are all too aware that it’s not the end. But they’re also savvy enough to know that, at some point, it will come to a culmination. That’s the nature of football. Cycles occur, with various teams enjoying peaks and troughs.

On reflection of the current period in years to come, Jurgen Klopp will rightfully get the majority of the glory. His status at Anfield isn’t quite at Bill Shankly’s or Bob Paisley’s level yet only those two legendary managers are held in higher esteem. Klopp took the Reds from perpetual underachievers back to the apogee of European football by winning every trophy possible. For the rest of his days, he can go into any pub in the city without a penny to his name and leave feeling merry should he wish.

The brilliance of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and so many others etched in folklore will be eulogised. So many are in the pantheon of greats.

But Kopites will dare not forget the impact that Michael Edwards had in the trophy-laden spell. He’ll be lauded as the behind-the-scenes data guru who masterminded so much of the success. As sporting director, he helped engineer transfers for the likes of van Dijk, Mane, Firmino, Salah, Andy Robertson Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Diogo Jota. The list goes on.

Yet it was perhaps his prowess at selling players as to why he’s a cult figure. Fenway Sports Group’s sustainable model means that funds need to be raised in order to recruit. Edwards had a penchant for squeezing every pound possible out of an exit.

Indeed, Liverpool will get a reminder of his bargaining skills when they travel to AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday. The Cherries purchased three players from the Reds for a combined totalled of £41 million - yet only one remains on the south coast.

In the summer of 2016, Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith were both sold to Bournemouth for a combined £21 million. The former finds himself as a free agent after leaving Turkish side Adanaspor in November while Smith is plying his trade with MLS outfit Houston Dynamos.

Then in January 2019, Dominic Solanke flogged to the Cherries for £19 million. The striker cost Liverpool just £5 million in compensation having signed from Chelsea just 18 months earlier. Solanke managed a solitary goal in 27 appearances for Klopp’s side. None of those outings arrived in the first half of the 2018-19 campaign before his exit.

Edwards secured a £14 million profit on a player who was surplus to requirements on Merseyside. It was a shrewd bit of business. To his credit, Solanke has found fortune on the south coast and bagged 54 goals in 161 games to date. But Liverpool’s decision to sell the one-cap England international rather than wait to see if he could fulfil his potential was the correct one.

Edwards, of course, made the decision to depart Liverpool last summer upon the expiry of his contract. He’s currently on a break from football. His successor, Julian Ward, will also leave the Reds just a year into his role as sporting director.

That certainly came as a surprise. Ward proved an adept replacement, having brokered deals for Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo while banking substantial fees for Mane (£35 million), Neco Williams (£17 million) and Takumi Minamino (£15 million).

Liverpool’s search for Ward’s successor is ongoing, with Monaco’s Paul Mitchell linked. And as the Reds come up against Solanke, they’ll need someone not only capable of identifying players to sign but maximising every player sale.