Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre says that manager Jurgen Klopp is in control of player transfers at Anfield, and claims that their recruitment methods aren’t any different to other clubs.
The German became the Reds’ boss in October and straight away insisted that there were no problems with the way the club operate in the market.
Ayre is part of the group that helped former manager Brendan Rodgers choose players to sign. Also involved were Dave Fallows (head of recruitment), Barry Hunter (chief scout), Michael Edwards (head of performance analysis), and president of Fenway Sports Group Mike Gordon.
The 52-year-old said at the Web Summit in Dublin: “Brendan had the final say on all the players we signed.
“There’s only one person that has the final say over what players at Liverpool Football Club and that’s Jürgen Klopp right now. That’s always been the case for as long as I’ve been here.
“The words ‘transfer committee’, I think, got used once and became this idea that we all sit round a table and have a vote on every player we sign. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The point that has been made about the committee, and I don’t think we did anything any different to most football clubs, is that the manager will say we are looking for somebody in this position and a bunch of people – a mix of traditional scouts and more recently analytical and digital-based information – bring all of that together as was always the case.
“Then we look at two, three, four players, the best players for that position, show them to the manager and the manager can go watch or have the scouts go watch those players and narrow it down. At that point I’ll become more involved and start talking to clubs, agents, players on a negotiations basis and then the manager will choose.
“That’s never changed. I’ve been at the football club eight years.
“The committee, and we don’t think of it as a committee, just the media do, is really a collaboration of all those people that all contribute to let the manager make that decision, and I think that’s very smart.”
Liverpool have been heavily criticised for the way they’ve spent their money in recent years.
Many of last summer’s signings didn’t work out, and the Reds had to try to repair a lot of that damage during the previous transfer window.
Klopp’s first window as Liverpool manager opens in two months, so it will be interesting to see how much he tinkers with the current squad.
With the Reds visibly improving since his arrival – most evident in their 3-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday – he may be content with the playing staff he already has at his disposal.
Comments.
Loading comments…