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Liverpool

Premier League • England

Ten of Michael Edwards’ best transfer deals at Liverpool amid Man Utd links: Robertson, Salah, Solanke…

Michael Edwards arriving for a Liverpool awards ceremony

After establishing himself as one of the best sporting directors in world football during his time at Liverpool, Michael Edwards could now be set for a shock move to Manchester United. 

Edwards became Liverpool’s sporting director in November 2016 but stepped down from the role at the end of the 2021/22 season.

According to Football Insider, United and Chelsea are both interested in the transfer guru but the Red Devils look set to win the race for his signature.

We’ve taken a look at some of the best deals that Edwards was involved in during his five years as Liverpool’s sporting director.

Mohamed Salah

According to reports, Jurgen Klopp was very keen on signing then-Bayer Leverkusen player Julian Brandt in the summer of 2017. The Liverpool manager also had Christian Pulisic and Julian Draxler on his list of targets.

But the Reds ultimately signed Salah from Roma in a £36.9m deal after Edwards, who was in his first summer as sporting director, intervened.

“When Klopp was sold on Julian Brandt, but the forward was worried about a lack of minutes and adjusting if he left the Bundesliga, Edwards convinced him Mohamed Salah was the only man to go all in for,” journalist Melissa Reddy said.

While the Egypt international had starred in Serie A, the deal looked to be somewhat of a gamble after he failed to make much of an impact at Chelsea during his first spell in England.

However, Salah scored on his Liverpool debut against Watford and enjoyed a remarkable debut season, breaking the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign with 32.

The 30-year-old has now scored over 150 goals for the Reds in all competitions, helping them win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup.

Andy Robertson

Despite suffering relegation to the Championship with Hull City in the 2016/17 season, Robertson did enough to impress the key figures at Liverpool. 

According to The Atheltic, it was Edwards who saw the potential in the Scotland international and they signed him in an £8m deal. 

The left-back initially struggled to break into Jurgen Klopp’s team but has since gone from strength to strength, establishling himself as one of the greatest bargain buys in the Premier League era. 

Dominic Solanke

Solanke joined Liverpool from Chelsea in 2017 but failed to live up to expectations, scoring just one goal in 27 appearances for the club.

Edwards still managed to make a success out of the situation by negotiating a £19m deal to sell him to Bournemouth in January 2019.

While the striker enjoyed two succesful seasons in the Championship, he has scored just five goals in his first 50 Premier League appearances for the Cherries and Liverpool definitely got the better end of that deal.

Phillipe Coutinho

After Coutinho handed in a transfer request and expressed his desire to join Barcelona, Edwards helped Liverpool get the best possible deal.

Liverpool refused to be bullied by the Catalan giants, who made three unsuccesful bids before agreeing to meet the £142m asking price in January 2018.

During negotiations, Edwards also included a unique clause that ensured Barcelona would have to pay an £89m premium on top of a transfer fee if they wanted to sign another Liverpool player before 2020.

While Coutinho struggled in Spain, the Reds then used the money they recieved for him to pay for the next two players on this list. 

Virgil van Dijk

Eyebrows were raised when Edwards sanctioned a £75m deal to sign Van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018.

At the time, it was a world-record fee for a defender, but the Netherlands international has undoubtedly managed to justify the price tag. 

He developed into the best centre-back in the world and had a transformative effect on Liverpool, marshalling their backline as they won the Champions League in 2018/19 and the Premier League in 2019/20.

Alisson

After Loris Karius’ calamity filled performance in the 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, Liverpool priortised a top-class goalkeeper and targeted Roma’s Alisson Becker.

Despite the fact that Roma insisted that they would only sanction a £90m deal, the Brazil international was secured for a total package of £65m.

He won the Premier League Golden Glove award in his debut season and also made eight saves as the Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Champions League final.

The 30-year-old is still one of Liverpool’s most reliable and consistent performers and the £65m fee that was agreed with Roma has been repaid many times over.

Fabinho

Liverpool reportedly fought off competition from Manchester United to sign Fabinho from Monaco in 2018 in a deal worth an initial £39m.

He initially struggled to settle into life at Anfield but it soon became apparent that the Brazil international was the missing piece of Liverpool’s midfield jigsaw.

The 29-year-old formed part of an impressive trio alongside Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum as the Reds won the Champions League and the Premier League in consecutive years.

Mamadou Sakho

After breaking club rules and falling out with Jurgen Klopp during Liverpool’s pre-season tour in 2016, Sakho was banished to train with the Under-23s.

Liverpool weren’t able to offload him during that summer window, and the centre-back spent the second half of the 2016/17 season on loan at Crystal Palace.

Despite the fact that Sakho was clearly unwanted at Liverpool, Edwards still demanded £26m for him and Palace agreed to pay the asking price following his succesful loan spell. 

The France international became a popular figure at Selhurst Park but injuries limited his impact, and he left on a free transfer in 2021. 

Danny Ward

Ward joined Liverpool from Wrexham for just £100k in January 2012 but only made only three first-team appearances in five and a half years at Anfield. 

Despite deeming the Wales international surplus to requirements after Alisson’s arrival, Liverpool were still able to sell him to Leicester City in a £12.5m deal in 2018.

He acted as backup to Kasper Schmeichel during his first four seasons at the club and has now struggled to fill the void left by his predecessor.

Rhian Brewster

After coming through Liverpool’s academy and enjoying a successful loan spell at Swansea City, Brewster looked set for a bright future at Anfield.

But the Reds needed to raise funds in the summer of 2020 and sold the striker to Sheffield United in a £23.5m deal. Edwards ensured that Liverpool have a buyback clause up until 2023 and will receive 15 per cent of any sell-on fee.

Liverpool won’t have any regrets as Brewster has failed to justify that price tag, netting just five goals in his first 60 appearances for the Blades, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2021. 

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