Manager hunt ‘accelerates’ & new centre-back linked 

Manager hunt ‘accelerates’ & new centre-back linked

Liverpool finally confirmed their new sporting director on Wednesday, which could bring developments in the hunt for a manager and summer signings.

Manager search to ‘accelerate’ with 3 targets
Liverpool made the next step in a major restructure on Wednesday with the appointment of Richard Hughes as their new sporting director.

Hughes will officially join when his role as technical director at Bournemouth ends on June 1, but the understanding is that he and Michael Edwards will start early in securing Liverpool’s next manager.

Per the Telegraph‘s Chris Bascombe, the club “knew a sporting director would be in position before they could consider a formal approach to the most coveted coaches.”

Xabi Alonso is the leading candidate but Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim is another contender, and Brighton‘s Roberto De Zerbi has seemingly returned to the radar.

Unsurprisingly, recruiting a successor to Jurgen Klopp is described as Hughes’ “first pressing matter.”

Also read:

Why LFC hired Hughes – A football expert who tried to sign 4 of their players
Michael Edwards explains why Hughes is “right person” for Liverpool job
Fans will love what Harry Redknapp has said about Liverpool’s new transfer chief

3 things today: Murillo interest and VAR nonsense
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Sunday, October 29, 2023: Nottingham Forest’s Murillo Santiago Costa dos Santos during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. Liverpool won 3-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Murillo, the 21-year-old Nottingham Forest centre-back, is another defender on Liverpool’s list of potential summer targets – and Forest may be forced to sell
Bayer Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro insists “nothing makes us think” Xabi Alonso is planning to leave the club
VAR Stuart Attwell‘s reason for dismissing the high boot from Man City‘s Jeremy Doku on Alexis Mac Allister as a possible penalty has been revealed – somehow, he claimed “both come in high“…

Latest Liverpool FC news
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Saturday, October 14, 2017: Former Liverpool player Xabi Alonso before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Real Madrid could also be in for Alonso this summer, according to Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeness (ran.de)

Man United fan Michael Bernard Avery, 44, has been charged and bailed after vile Hillsborough and Heysel gestures at Old Trafford (Mail)

Jayden Danns, Trey Nyoni and Amara Nallo all came off the bench as England beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the U18 Super Cup (England)

Latest chat from elsewhere
LONDON, ENGLAND – Saturday, February 17, 2024: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the third goal during the FA Premier League match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC at the Brentford Community Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Mo Salah is set to be approached by Netflix to take part in a “fly-on-the-wall documentary series on the art of goalscoring” (Mail)

Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has signed a new long-term contract with the club (Arsenal)

Timo Werner wants to make his loan move to Tottenham permanent, which would cost “less than £15 million” (Telegraph)

Artwork of the day and match of the night
Masterpiece pending. Liverpool artist MurWalls is currently putting together a stunning new mural outside Anfield, on the corner of Coningsby Road and Anfield Road.

Read all about this ode to God here.

If you’re desperate, San Marino vs. St Kitts and Nevis is the only senior men’s fixture on TV in the UK this evening, kicking off on Viaplay Sports 1 at 7.45pm (GMT).

Hardly a must-watch clash, but it could, in fact, feature a Liverpool player in 18-year-old midfielder Kyle Kelly, who was called up by St Kitts and Nevis for the first time.

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Richard Hughes has already advised Liverpool on huge transfers – and tried to appoint their potential next manager
Special report from Theo Squires on Richard Hughes becoming Liverpool’s new sporting director – a move that has been 20 years in the making for Michael Edwards

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ByTheo SquiresLiverpool FC Writer
14:57, 20 MAR 2024UPDATED15:59, 20 MAR 2024
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BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – MARCH 14: Richard Hughes, Director of Football of Bournemouth during a training session at Vitality Stadium on March 14, 2024 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director from the summer on, watches on during a Bournemouth training session last week (Image: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

Michael Edwards has wasted no time in making his first appointment at Liverpool Football Club since being appointed FSG CEO of Football.

As expected, Richard Hughes has been confirmed as the Reds’ new sporting director and will officially start his new role at Anfield on June 1. He is currently the first-team technical director at AFC Bournemouth, but it had already been confirmed that he would leave the club at the end of the season.

One of Hughes’ first – and biggest – tasks at Liverpool will be to identify and recruit Jurgen Klopp’s successor. Former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso is one of the favourites for the job, having overseen a remarkable transformation since taking over at Bayer Leverkusen, who are in the hunt for three trophies, including a first-ever Bundesliga title.

Hughes already boasts a good relationship with Alonso’s agent and representatives – Inaki Ibanez of IDUB Global – after appointing Andoni Iraola as Bournemouth head coach last summer. Iraola, who has led the Cherries to 13th in the Premier League and effective safety by March, is also represented by the IDUB Global group.

READ MORE: Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards speak out after Liverpool confirm new sporting director

READ MORE: Richard Hughes named Liverpool’s new sporting director as start date confirmed

However, Alonso is not the only serious candidate to replace Klopp, with Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Germany’s Julian Naglesmann among those said to be under consideration.

In the case of De Zerbi, Hughes has tried to appoint him before. If not for a delayed takeover at Bournemouth, the Italian was lined up to replace Scott Parker in August 2022.

Hughes has been headhunted by Edwards, who holds his fellow 44-year-old in the highest regard, having followed his career closely, and has had a longstanding desire to work with the former Scotland international as a result. The ECHO understands Edwards is believed to have been surprised that Hughes, along with Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman, was not a candidate to be interviewed by Liverpool’s owners FSG when Julian Ward announced his intention to step down as the club’s sporting director last season.

The pair boast a professional and personal relationship that dates back more than 20 years from their time together at Portsmouth, when Edwards was a junior data analyst and Hughes still a player.

It was at Fratton Park where their relationship blossomed, and sowed the initial seeds that have resulted in Hughes’ appointment at Anfield two decades later.

It is recalled how Hughes grabbed the attention of the analysis team as he would not only seek out information and clips of his own performances, but also of Portsmouth’s upcoming opponents, as well as clubs from across the Premier League, Football League and overseas. As a result, Edwards is believed to have admired his counterpart’s footballing knowledge, and ability to analyse and articulate his ideas long before becoming a technical director.

While it was assumed that Hughes might embark on a coaching career, Eddie Howe instead persuaded him to join the ‘other side’ and serve as the ‘football voice’ alongside CEO Neill Blake behind the scenes at the Vitality Stadium. Joining Bournemouth’s recruitment team in 2014, Hughes was promoted to technical director two years later.

His tenure coincided with a spell where Bournemouth finished ninth, 12th and 14th in the Premier League, as the Cherries ultimately punched above their weight in the English top flight. And while they suffered relegation in 2020, they returned two years later and are currently well-placed to better their 15th-placed finish of last season.

Consequently, Hughes dealt directly with Edwards a number of times during the latter’s original stint as Liverpool sporting director.

Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith both moved to the Vitality for a combined £21m fee in July 2016, while Dominic Solanke would also leave Liverpool for Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £24m in January 2019. The same month saw Nathaniel Clyne join the Cherries on loan until the end of the season.

The following August, Bournemouth would sign Harry Wilson on a season-long loan move from the Reds, while Nat Phillips would complete his own temporary switch to the South Coast club in January 2022 during Edwards’ final season at Anfield, as the centre-back went on to help the Cherries win promotion back to the Premier League.

Yet the duo have not just worked on deals together. Bournemouth rivalled Liverpool for Andy Robertson from Hull City in the summer of 2017, and were also the ‘runners-up’ in the signings of Joe Gomez from Charlton Athletic and Harvey Elliott from Fulham. Hughes was also unsuccessful in efforts to sign Virgil van Dijk from Celtic in 2015, with the Dutchman ultimately joining Southampton instead before his move to Liverpool.

Boasting a love of Italian football, Glasgow-born Hughes, who lived in Bergamo as a child and played for Atalanta’s youth teams before returning to the UK, is understood to have enjoyed many discussions with Edwards regarding Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker long before the star pair arrived on Merseyside. Such players would inevitably be beyond the grasp of a Bournemouth, but that didn’t stop Hughes noticing their progress and expecting big things.

Edwards’ respect for Hughes grew as a result, with his identification process in recruitment seemingly highly effective, even if Bournemouth’s standing in the game, compared to Liverpool’s, did at times count against him. Consequently, Anfield bosses always respected the Cherries’ ability to identify and attract young talents.

Bournemouth beat the Reds to the signing of Lloyd Kelly from Bristol City in 2019, while Liverpool are also said to have admired their acquisitions of Tyrone Mings, Lewis Cook and Phillip Billing. The Reds also looked extensively at David Brooks, prior to his Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis in 2021. The Wales international joined Bournemouth for £11.5m from Sheffield United in 2018.

Bournemouth’s signings of Solanke from Liverpool and Nathan Ake from Chelsea also earned admiring glances on the red half of Merseyside. While Solanke was on the fringes at Liverpool and took his time to settle at the Vitality, he has now established himself as a prolific Premier League striker. The 26-year-old has 17 goals in all competitions this season and has been crucial in first securing the Cherries’ return to the Premier League and then helping retain their place in the English top flight.

Meanwhile, Ake was sold for £41m to Manchester City, three years after joining Bournemouth for £20m from Chelsea, and is now a three-time Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and European Super Cup winner.

With Edwards believing that a sporting director should be a ‘football-first’ led role, Hughes is seen as the ideal appointment. And while the two differ in how they operate, there is a strong belief that they will complement each other well.

In his advisory role with Ludonautics, Edwards is understood to have regularly told leading clubs that Hughes should be on their radar. Their loss is Liverpool’s gain.

Hughes first caught Edwards’ eye in the analysts’ room at Fratton Park and the admiring glances have continued to grow over the past two decades. Impressing behind the scenes at Bournemouth, he’s now at the big table as opposed to competing against it.

As a result, it is an exciting prospect to see what Hughes can now achieve having been handed an opportunity at one of European football’s elite clubs. Such a move has been over 20 years in the making, with the man himself no doubt determined to make sure it was well worth the wait for Edwards.

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Liverpool injury latest and return dates including Luis Díaz as two withdraw from national duty
Latest Liverpool injury news and expected return dates as the international break arrives. Two have withdrawn, but Luis Díaz has gone away with Colombia.

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ByJames MartinLiverpool Writer
10:00, 20 MAR 2024
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Colombia’s forward Luis Díaz (2nd-L) and midfielder James Rodriguez (R) are pictured with their teammates during a training session in Barranquilla, Colombia, on November 15, 2023, ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualification football matches against Brazil and Paraguay.
Luis Díaz is away from Liverpool representing Colombia after an injury concern against Manchester United. (Image: JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)
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Liverpool just ran out of steam before the international break. Having worked wonders with an injury-ravaged squad for weeks, a trip to Old Trafford proved one step too far for Jürgen Klopp, whose quadruple dream died with an FA Cup quarter-final defeat.

It’s a tricky one to assess, because despite its problems, Liverpool did more than enough to win the game against Manchester United. But while the specifics of the match might not be directly attributable to injuries and fatigue, it has to be taken in the wider context — Klopp could not keep defying the realities of his packed treatment room forever.

In that sense, then, there is hope that this international break could actually be quite well-timed. It gives players time to recover without missing any more important Liverpool fixtures.

READ MORE: ‘All documents signed’ for first Michael Edwards move as Liverpool and FSG rebuild continues

READ MORE: Fernando Torres looks very different and has new job before Liverpool and Steven Gerrard reunion

However, the trade-off is the risk that players could pick up further injuries on international duty. All Klopp can do now is cross his fingers in respect of those who have jetted off to join up with their national teams.

We’ll be keeping you updated over the next few days. For now, here’s how things stand on the Liverpool injury front.

Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo
Making matters worse in the defeat to Manchester United, Klopp confirmed after the game that three of his players — all forwards — had picked up injury concerns during the game. Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo all had complaints of some description come the end of extra time.

Resultantly, Núñez has been withdrawn from the Uruguay squad for the upcoming internationals, joining Mohamed Salah in sitting out the March fixtures. However, there is optimism that it is no more than a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, both Díaz and Gakpo have reported for national duty, with Colombia and the Netherlands respectively. While this clearly suggests the injuries were minor, Klopp will nonetheless be watching their involvement from behind the sofa.

Possible return dates: March 31 vs Brighton

Ibrahima Konaté
Ibrahima Konaté did not make it back in time for the game against Manchester United, having also missed the crunch Premier League meeting with Manchester City. That’s after he was forced off in the second leg against Sparta Prague, where Klopp fielded a surprisingly strong team.

However, the manager described a ‘race’ to be fit for the match at Old Trafford, with Konaté not far off fitness. Sure enough, he has been called up by France, and has been pictured in training, another situation Liverpool will monitor anxiously.

Possible return date: March 31 vs Brighton.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones
Some of the longer-term absentees should be ready to return shortly after the international break. Curtis Jones was being watched closely by England before injury thwarted his chances of a maiden call-up, but he is expected back for Liverpool when domestic action returns.

Klopp has said that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota are about a week behind, provided there are no further setbacks. This would be another key trio to have back in the fold — with all potentially available for the rematch against Manchester United, this time in the league.

Possible return dates: March 31 vs Brighton for Jones, April 7 vs Manchester United for Jota and Alexander-Arnold.

Alisson
Alisson was conspicuous by his absence from Klopp’s latest fitness update. The Brazilian stopper was not mentioned in the group of Jones, Jota and Alexander-Arnold as a candidate for a rapid return after the internationals.

The manager has previously described the setback as ‘rather serious’, though he was adamant it would not end Alisson’s season. Fortunately, Caoimhín Kelleher has been deputizing admirably in the meantime

Possible return date: Unknown.

Stefan Bajčetić
In an exciting development, Stefan Bajčetić has returned to training. Klopp likened it to his personal ‘pre-season’ before he is ready to join the full group.

Naturally, Liverpool will be extremely cautious with reintegrating the youngster, who has been absent for the vast majority of the season after a breakthrough campaign last time out. With a maximum of 15 games left in this season, all of which will be of the utmost importance, he’s unlikely to get any significant minutes.

However, there’s no doubt that the return of Bajčetić will strengthen the squad. While there is no firm date, it doesn’t look far away.

Possible return date: Unknown.

Thiago, Joël Matip and Ben Doak
Having made his return from a season-long absence against Arsenal in January, Thiago suffered another setback. Klopp has admitted he does not know whether the Spaniard will play for Liverpool again.

As such, he returns to the list of long-term absentees. He’s in good company, with Joël Matip also potentially having played his last match for the Reds after suffering ligament damage in December.

Meanwhile, youngster Ben Doak has been sidelined for months already. Interestingly, he was left in the Europa League squad at the latest update while Matip was removed, suggesting the Scot has the better chance of returning to fitness before the end of the campaign.

Possible return dates: End of season or thereabouts.

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Cristiano Ronaldo told he’s past his ‘peak’ as Man Utd could hand Liverpool $53m transfer boost
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Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he’s past his peak by an international teammate. Manchester United may have just handed Liverpool a summer transfer boost.

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ByJames FindlaterContent Editor
15:00, 20 MAR 2024
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Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he’s past his peak by a teammate
Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he’s past his peak by a teammate (Image: Getty Images)
The disappointment of Liverpool’s exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United still lingers. There is though still plenty for the Reds to play for this season.