Liverpool have taken big step to appointing next manager - but what's already happened behind the scenes is crucial
Liverpool have just moved a step closer to appointing Jurgen Klopp’s successor after announcing Richard Hughes as the club’s new sporting director.
Hughes will officially join the Reds on June 1, when his contract as first team technical director at AFC Bournemouth comes to an end. But as the man tasked with identifying and appointing Liverpool’s next manager, such a search will not be on hiatus in the interim.
After all, Fenway Sports Group’s new CEO of Football, Michael Edwards, was present at Old Trafford for Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United despite it previously being confirmed that he won’t officially resign from his consultancy work with his own company, Ludonautics, until June 1.
Hughes’ contacts could prove decisive, with onlookers quickly spotting a noticeable link between the 44-year-old and former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso, who remains one of the favourites to succeed Klopp.
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Hughes already boasts a good relationship with Alonso’s agent and representatives - Inaki Ibanez of IDUB Global - after hiring Andoni Iraola last summer for Bournemouth. The former Rayo Vallecano boss is represented by the same group.
However, despite being the supporters’ favourite, Alonso is not the only serious candidate. Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Germany’s Julian Naglesmann are among those reportedly under consideration.
And in the case of De Zerbi, Hughes has tried to appoint him before. If not for a delayed takeover at the Vitality Stadium, the
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