Elsewhere, however, major changes have been made, with Hughes overseeing an extensive revamp of the club’s scouting and loan management operations. That coincides with Dave Fallows stepping down as director of scouting and recruitment having worked for Liverpool since 2012. He was going to leave at the same time as Klopp but after discussions with Edwards and Hughes, he agreed to stay on until Christmas to help with the transition process.
Fallows will not be directly replaced. The recruitment department has already changed significantly with Woodfine brought back as Hughes’ No 2.
New head of scouting operations Craig McKee and head of technical scouting Mark Burchill both followed Hughes from Bournemouth to Merseyside in the summer. Liverpool can also still count on the vast experience of long-serving chief scout Barry Hunter.
Matt Newberry has been rewarded for his contribution as head of senior academy recruitment and head of loan management with a promotion to the new role of director of global talent. It’s about trying to make sure Liverpool are at the front of the queue for the best local, national and international young players.
As well as bringing through home-grown players of the calibre of Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones, they want to add to add to that crop with the kind of deals that saw teenagers Trey Nyoni (Leicester City) and Rio Ngumoha (Chelsea) move to Liverpool.
Liverpool also intend to appoint a global talent scout and they are creating four new regional European scouting jobs, including roles in the Netherlands and Belgium.
For all the focus on the club’s use of data to influence decision-making during Edwards’ tenure as sporting director, he has always placed a strong emphasis on the ‘eye test’ and the importance of having an extensive network of scouts to create key relationships.
Hughes has pinpointed where he believes Liverpool can improve on that front and his plan to fill the void is being backed with resources.
As well as recruiting a new head of loan management following Newberry’s promotion, Liverpool have also created two further associated roles, loans pathway lead and loans performance analyst.
It reflects the importance of the loan market to both develop young players and also enhance their value. Picking the right environment for them to gain more senior experience is key.
Teenage winger Ben Doak has kicked on impressively so far this season on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough, and with Scotland. Lewis Koumas has done likewise at Stoke City. Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott have all previously returned from loans much better equipped to challenge for a place in the Liverpool side.