Liverpool are "very far in" with negotiations to bring Jorg Schmadtke to the club as sporting director, according to journalist Christian Falk.
Do Liverpool need a sporting director?
The job of sporting director has been an influential one at Anfield during Jurgen Klopp's time in charge of the Reds, with Michael Edwards bordering on a genius who worked wonders in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Julian Ward has continued to do an impressive job as his predecessor, but he is leaving his role at the end of the season.
Liverpool are working hard on finding a replacement and Schmadtke has emerged as a front-runner in recent weeks, with the 59-year-old previously at Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. Now, a fresh update has emerged – one that suggests that he will indeed be Ward's imminenty replacement on Merseyside.
Will Schmadtke move to Anfield?
Speaking to Caught Offside, Falk claimed that talks are now at an advanced stage, with Klopp seemingly seeing his compatriot as the best possible appointment:
"The negotiations are very far in for Jorg Schmadtke, I heard. He thought about retiring after leaving Wolfsburg in January. He said his wife is now making the decision and if in the next three months she can’t stand him anymore he has to go out and work again.
"So, I think it’s not easy for him to be coming back into a full-time job in July, especially not in Germany. I heard the talks started with the idea of an external consultant position working just for transfers. This idea included just a few months, especially the summer transfer window. Now the talks are looking at something more, which is why they are taking longer than expected.
"At a minimum, it will be a consultant role. If Liverpool wants and gets more from Schmadtke – that remains to be seen."
There is no absolute confirmation that Liverpool want Schmadtke as sporting director, rather than a different position, but he could be an astute appointment in that job, given his vast experience down the years.
While some negative reports have emerged regarding his personality and ability to fall out with managers, Klopp is to be trusted with decisions such as these. If he wants to bring him in, there is a good reason for it, having helped Hannover 96 finish fourth in the Bundesliga in 2010/11, and reaching the Europa League quarter-finals the following season.
It is absolutely vital that Liverpool get this appointment right, though, ahead of one of the most important summer transfer windows in recent memory, with numerous new signings required to get the Reds back towards the top of English football.
