Liverpool have held talks with a new candidate for their sporting director role, with a strong CV from jobs at Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Reds are heading towards the summer transfer window knowing their current sporting director, Julian Ward, is soon to depart.
Ward will leave the club at the end of the season after tendering his resignation in November, though he will remain part of the process in signing players between now and then.
Liverpool are eager to bring in his replacement, though, with the aim being to secure an external appointment rather than promote from within again.
The likes of Paul Mitchell, Markus Krosche and Sven Mislintat have all been linked with the job, but reports have denied they will be taking over.
Now, though, Football Insider‘s David Lynch reveals that the club have held talks with former Werder Bremen and Leverkusen figurehead Tim Steidten.
Steidten left Leverkusen in March, after almost four years with the German side – first as head of scouting and then sport co-ordinator – and Liverpool have “moved quickly to make contact.”
The 43-year-old is described as “one of several candidates” for the Reds, and similarly it is explained that he is “likely to hold talks with several other clubs.”
Interestingly, Steidten previously held talks with Chelsea – who have since appointed Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley – and told Bremen newspaper Weser Kurier that he was looking for a role where he could “change things.”
“I need to feel my word carries weight,” he stressed.
“It has to be a function in which I can implement and change things. That was the case with Werder and also with Bayer.
“I don’t know yet whether it will be a club again or a multi-club ownership model or something completely different.”
Interestingly, speaking on Anfield Index’s Media Matters podcast, Lynch speculated that Liverpool may have already quietly appointed Ward’s successor.
This update suggests that may not be the case, with Steidten clearly open about his future, though the journalist did at least rule out a move for Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund.
Steidten has played a key role in building the Leverkusen squad now managed by Xabi Alonso, and his brother, Moritz, is a highly regarded scout at Werder Bremen.
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