Liverpool are reportedly close to appointing Jorg Schmadtke as their new sporting director.

This is according to The Telegraph who reveal the Merseyside outfit have held talks with the German football executive and are set to appoint him soon.

The Reds have been looking to sign a replacement for Julian Ward who is set to leave Anfield at the end of the season after taking over from Michael Edwards a year ago.

Schmadtke played as a goalkeeper for German clubs Fortuna Dusseldorf and Freiburg during the 1980s and 1990s.

Following his retirement, the 59-year-old went on to serve as sporting director at Aachen, Hannover 96, FC Cologne and most recently Wolfsburg.

The German football expert is known for his outspoken style and also for recruitment that gets value for the assigned budgets.

Liverpool are set for a very busy summer transfer window as manager Jurgen Klopp aims to rebuild his squad ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Their disappointing performances this campaign shows they need reinforcements in several areas.

New signings in midfield look to be their main priority but the Reds also require additions in forward and defence.

They pulled out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham due to Borussia Dortmund’s huge valuation. The 19-year-old is now reportedly very close to joining Real Madrid after agreeing personal terms with them.

Chelsea’s Mason Mount is regarded as a top target for the Merseyside outfit this summer, while they have also been linked with moves for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Alexis Mac Allister and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch.

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Report: Liverpool now close to landing sporting director who sold Osimhen for just £3.5m

Liverpool are set to bring in former Wolfsburg man Jorg Schmadtke as their new sporting director.

That is according to The Telegraph, who claim that Schmadtke has become the ‘shock frontrunner’ for the Liverpool job.

The Reds lost Michael Edwards last summer and his replacement, Julian Ward, is now leaving this summer.

That means Liverpool must now make another change in their recruitment team and Schmadtke appears to be their man.

It’s suggested that talks between Liverpool and the 59-year-old have ‘accelerated’ and a deal looks to be close.

The report adds that Schmadtke is close with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp with the Reds ready to back him with an appointment he wants.

Who is Liverpool target Jorg Schmadtke and who has he signed?

Schmadtke had a strong playing career as a goalkeeper in Germany, racking up appearances for Fortuna Dusseldorf and Freiburg.

Schmadtke has held a number of positions, including assistant manager at Borussia Monchengladbach and goalkeeping coach for Dusseldorf.

A 2001 move to Alemannia Aachen was very interesting; he started as sporting director but then become manager in 2008.

That only lasted a matter of weeks and Hannover saw enough to hire him as their sporting director in 2009.

Four years there resulted in a move to Koln, where he again spent four years before eventually heading to Wolfsburg.

Schmadtke left the Bundesliga club in January and now seems to be heading for Liverpool.

Liverpool fans will be wondering just who Schmadtke has signed in his career in recruitment.

Kevin Mbabu and Xaver Schlager proved to be quality additions at Wolfsburg, as did French defender Maxence Lacroix and German utility man Ridle Baku.

Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Micky van de Ven was snapped up in 2021 and looks to be a top talent whilst Schmadtke landed now-Manchester United hitman Wout Weghorst for Wolfsburg.

The Dutchman was a huge success in Germany but hasn’t quite taken his goalscoring record to England.

One of Schmadtke’s worst decisions surrounded Victor Osimhen.

We now know Osimhen as a goalscoring machine who fired Napoli to the Premier League title.

Osimhen was once on the Wolfsburg books but was sold to Charleroi for just £3.5million in 2019 after just 16 first-team games.

The Nigerian has made Wolfsburg pay for that decision and is now one of the top strikers in world football.

Schmadtke admitted that he and Wolfsburg just weren’t patient enough with Osimhen.

It is worth noting here that Osimhen didn’t score in those 16 games, but Schmadtke himself knows that Wolfsburg should have given him more time.

That’s just a lesson learned for Schmadtke and Liverpool fans will now hope for some Osimhen-like talents at Anfield – probably more so than a Weghorst.

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