Liverpool confirm sporting director Michael Edwards WILL leave the club

Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s influential sporting director, will leave his post at the end of the season after the club conceded he will not sign a new contract.

Edwards, who worked at Portsmouth and Tottenham before moving to Anfield in November 2011, will be succeeded by his assistant Julian Ward and Liverpool have taken steps to ensure this will be a smooth transition.

Ward is highly-regarded within Anfield, particularly by manager Jurgen Klopp, and had been lined up to one day follow Edwards since he was promoted from his position as loan and pathways manager last December.

Born in Liverpool, Ward moved to the club from Manchester City in 2012 and was initially in charge of scouting in Spain and Portugal. He went on to play a key role in deciding which young players would be suited to which clubs when the time was right to let them go and gain experience.

There is no question, though, that the loss of Edwards is significant. He is regarded as one of the best negotiators in the business – the best evidence of his work is the £146million deal he brokered with Barcelona for the sale of Philippe Coutinho in January 2018 – and his departure will be keenly felt.

As late as last week, Liverpool were hopeful of persuading Edwards to sign a new contract and the effort to keep him was concerted and repeated.

RB Leipzig had registered their interest in taking him but it was made clear that the idea of him extending his stay at Anfield was not out of the question.

Deep down, however, Edwards has felt the time has come for a change and he wanted to address the situation now in order to prevent continued speculation. He has been linked in recent days, for instance to Newcastle, but there is absolutely no chance of him moving to St James’ Park.

There are no restrictions on Edwards joining one of Liverpool’s rivals, as he is leaving at the end of a contract expiring, but although he will have plenty of offers at home and abroad, the 41-year-old is in no hurry to make a decision.

He will continue to be involved in Liverpool’s recruitment process and negotiating contract renewals, the most pressing of which is Mohamed Salah, who has 19 months remaining on his current terms.

Liverpool recognise they will need to make the Egyptian the highest paid player in their history.