Liverpool 'hope to appoint new sporting director by end of March'
The Reds have been without a transfer guru since the end of January, when former sporting director Jorg Schmadtke vacated his post at the close of the winter transfer window.
Schmadtke had only taken the reins in the summer and oversaw the Reds' successful midfield rebuild, helping to facilitate the arrivals of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai.
However, the 59-year-old was not expected to continue in his Anfield post for long, and his departure was made official by Liverpool last month, not long after Klopp's astonishing exit announcement.
While the hierarchy are still vetting candidates to become the club's new first-team manager, hiring a new sporting director is believed to be their number one priority right now, as prospective head coaches may be more hesitant to join without a director in place.
According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Liverpool and their owners Fenway Sports Group are keen to complete their profiling of sporting director candidates by the end of March, at which point they would have nailed down a leading candidate.
A handful of contenders are believed to be in the frame, including former AC Milan chief Ricky Massara, who spent four years at San Siro from 2019 to 2023 before being placed on gardening leave.
Massara previously held a handful of administrative roles with Roma before joining Milan in 2019, and the Rossoneri were crowned 2021-22 Serie A champions with the 55-year-old working as sporting director.
Ornstein adds that Nice transfer guru Florent Ghisolfi also has admirers within the Anfield walls, although the
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