Dion Fanning: Panic has defined Jurgen Klopp’s final days

Four days after Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, it was reported that Michael Edwards had turned down an offer to return to the club.

Edwards had joined Liverpool in 2011 as head of performance and analysis before becoming sporting director in 2016. Liverpool’s smart approach to recruitment was shaped by Edwards. Most notably he is credited with persuading Klopp in 2017 to pursue Mo Salah over Julian Brandt, who was Klopp’s preference.

Their working relationship was praised for being at the heart of Liverpool’s success as Liverpool became the only club who provided a serious obstacle to Manchester City. Liverpool won one Premier League title during Klopp’s time (a second seems unlikely now) but the year they finished second with 97 points may be viewed as the highpoint. With hindsight, it will be seen as a sign of how it was close to impossible to pursue the Abu Dhabi-funded Manchester City, a club which has been charged with 115 breaches of financial rules, which they deny.

When Edwards left Liverpool in 2022, there were suggestions that disagreements about contract extension for senior players like Jordan Henderson had led to his departure. This week Jamie Carragher talked about how Klopp and Edwards had “obviously fallen out” during their time together.

Klopp had assumed greater power at Liverpool. “Over the years my role was a pretty dominant one. It was not intentional, but it happened,” Klopp said on the day he announced his departure.

This was understandable. Klopp is the single most important figure in Liverpool’s success. He made sense of Liverpool’s model. Edwards did fine work but he was at the club for four years before Klopp’s arrival and those years were not