Liverpool are expected to add to their transfer staff with another appointment from Bournemouth, with Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes bringing in help.
The off-field restructure of Liverpool continued on Wednesday with the announcement that Hughes, currently technical director at Bournemouth, would join as sporting director.
He officially arrives in the summer as the first appointment of Edwards’ tenure as CEO of Football for Fenway Sports Group, with more change to follow.
According to various journalists including the Times‘ Paul Joyce and the Telegraph‘s Chris Bascombe, the club are working on the hire of Bournemouth chief scout Mark Burchill.
A former team-mate of Hughes’ at Portsmouth, Burchill is another who struck up a relationship with Edwards while he worked for the south-coast club as an analyst.
He moved into management upon his retirement in 2014 with a brief stint in charge of Scottish club Livingston, but then moved into scouting with a position at Bournemouth.
Burchill is described as being “instrumental in Bournemouth‘s signings such as Nathan Ake, David Brooks and Philip Billing,” all of whom established themselves as key players, with Ake then sold for a major profit.
Though he is chief scout at Dean Court, he will instead work alongside Liverpool chief scout Barry Hunter and head of recruitment Dave Fallows.
His arrival, when confirmed, continues a restructure of Liverpool’s recruitment team in the wake of Jurgen Klopp‘s resignation.
Klopp had seen an increase in power when it came to calls over transfers in recent years, but his decision to leave at the end of the season has prompted a shift to the previous setup.
Liverpool will combine data-led talent identification and traditional scouting as they seek to bolster and develop the squad inherited by Klopp’s successor.
While it is impossible to judge whether Burchill is a strong appointment from an outside perspective, it is certainly encouraging that, as with Edwards and Hughes, the club are moving swiftly to ensure key figures are in place.
The most important move, of course, will be bringing in the right manager, with Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi all contenders.
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