Meet the new (and old!) men taking charge of Liverpool’s transfers: Reds close in on Bournemouth chief Richard Hughes as new sporting director… as he looks to join returning Michael Edwards

Liverpool are hoping to wrap up a deal for outgoing Bournemouth transfer chief Richard Hughes to take over as sporting director in the next weeks, with the 44-year-old expected to head up the Reds’ football operations under Michael Edwards.

The Merseyside club held positive talks with former sporting director Edwards in Boston last weekend, with a view for him to return to the club in a more senior and wider role.

Edwards, highly lauded as an integral figure of Liverpool’s glory years under Jurgen Klopp, originally turned down an approach to return to the club after setting up an analytics firm with the club’s former head of research Ian Graham.

But it now appears he is close to agreeing to return to the Reds in a more senior position, with sources close to Hughes saying he will go wherever good friend Edwards goes next. The pair have good, long-standing relations.

Mail Sport reported a fortnight ago that CEO Billy Hogan was set to fly to Florida, which was part of a meeting with owners Fenway Sports Group. That subsequently led to the talks with Edwards, which were said to be encouraging.

Michael Edwards is set to return to Liverpool in a more senior position than sporting director 

Edwards left in 2022 after playing a key role in the club’s transformation under Jurgen Klopp

Edwards is likely to occupy a senior position at FSG, with him likely to take care of football operations at Liverpool, and it is expected that Hughes will soon follow.

That sets the ball rolling for finding Klopp’s successor when the German leaves in the summer. Former midfielder and Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is the top target, though Sporting’s Ruben Amorim scored highly on a data-driven approach led by head of research Will Spearman.

Both are expected to be interviewed. Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi was mentioned as part of the shortlist but noise has died down on the Italian, while there are drawbacks to Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann given the fact he is leading the nation in this summer’s Euros.

Hughes is highly regarded in football circles having driven Bournemouth’s recruitment drive in recent years that has seen them punch above their weight in the Premier League. Liverpool hope to have any moves wrapped up before the end of March.

Liverpool are yet to decide on the structure of the roles but Edwards is keen to have a title close to chief executive, with current CEO Billy Hogan expected to be found a new – but still senior – job in the day-to-day football operations department.