Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has said that Michael Edwards's return to the club as Fenway Sports Group's CEO of football is "top news" for the Reds.
The 44-year-old's appointment at FSG was confirmed on Tuesday, and his role as head of football operations will involve overseeing Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor when the German departs this summer.
Credited as the brains behind Liverpool's transfer operations, Edwards shared Liverpool's on-field success during his 11 years of service to the club, having initially joined as an analyst in 2011 before also becoming their head of methodology and technical director.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth chief left his role in 2022, but after turning down one proposal to return to Liverpool - as well as rejecting other clubs - his arm was twisted by FSG, who offered him more seniority than he had previously enjoyed at Anfield.
Edwards will officially begin work at the start of June, and speaking in Wednesday's press conference ahead of Thursday's Europa League clash with Sparta Prague, Klopp claimed that Edwards's return will be a "top solution".
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"Michael and I, we always had a really good relationship. It was always very good on a professional basis anyway, really good, and a lot of good things happened obviously in the time that we were here together," Klopp said, as quoted by liverpoolfc.com.
"I said it a few times, I want to see the club in the best possible place after I leave, so everything we can do as long as I am here I will do. After that, other people have to do it and I think it's a top solution, honestly. A top solution.
"Our conversation was great, we spoke about a lot of things, about what I think about different things, players and stuff like this [and] the situation in the club because I was in all the time while he was not in, so what had changed and what might have to change. These kind of things. A really good talk and, as I said, I think it's top news for the club."
However, when asked if Edwards tried to persuade him to perform a U-turn on his decision to leave the club, Klopp rubbished such suggestions, adding: "No, because – and it is very important in the job – he is not dumb.
"It's not a subject to talk about, to be honest. Can you imagine I changed my mind now? Can you? Of course not. I cannot say what I said... It would be like, 'Never, ever for another club in England' and then [I] signed for next year for a neighbour or whatever, or whoever needs a coach. That would be completely crazy.
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"It is, for me, the best club in the world and I leave it anyway – that's why I tried to explain. I just want the club to do as good as somehow possible. I am really sure we created a basis with the right people in charge, and Michael is a top choice."
Following Edwards's sensational Liverpool return, the Reds are believed to be on the brink of hiring ex-Bournemouth transfer guru Richard Hughes as their new sporting director, a position held by Julian Ward and Jorg Schmadtke since the former's exit.
Ward was only in the role for one season before surprisingly stepping aside at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, while Schmadtke was in the Anfield offices for two transfer windows and bid farewell at the end of January.
In terms of a replacement manager for the long-serving Klopp, Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso is still considered the top candidate, while Sporting Lisbon's Ruben Amorim heads the Reds' list of alternatives.
Liverpool welcome Sparta to Anfield on Thursday evening boasting a 5-1 lead from the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, putting one foot firmly in the quarter-finals at epet Arena last week.
Ben Knapton
