Michael Edwards has returned to Liverpool, bringing with him an impressive record in the transfer window.
Edwards has actually joined Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, as their new CEO of football, but memories of his last spell at the club will have fans excited. The 44-year-old worked his way up to become sporting director - a role he held between 2016 and 2022.
"With Liverpool FC, I will oversee the required reinforcement of football operations, with a number of essential leadership positions needing urgent attention," he confirmed on Tuesday. Edwards' sky-high reputation stems from an impressive track record from his previous spell at the club.
Liverpool signed 20 players while Edwards was at the top of the tree. The vast majority have proven to be successful acquisitions, but here Mirror Football takes a look over the creme de la creme - and the least successful.
The best transfers
Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk’s £75million move from Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018 received plenty of attention at the time – partly for the size of the fee and partly for the acrimony surrounding the transfer, with Saints accusing the Reds of tapping up their star. Over six years later and the deal is remembered very differently, as one of the key reasons behind Liverpool's recent success.
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The towering Dutch centre-back settled in straight away at Anfield and soon looked like one of the best players in his position in the world. Van Djik has made 256 appearances as the bedrock of Jurgen Klopp's side, providing leadership and stability in the centre of defence. His winner in the Carabao Cup final last month further cemented his place as a club legend.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah is one of Michael Edwards' best signings (Andrew Powell/Getty Images)Before Van Dijk came another transformative signing. Salah was signed from Roma in July 2017 for an initial fee of £36.9m which could rise to £43.9m with add-ons was particularly significant because it represented a club record at the time, eclipsing the £35m spent on Andy Carroll six years prior.
Salah was a long-term target for Liverpool, who were convinced he was exactly what they needed. Edwards and his recruitment team were right: the Egyptian has blossomed into one of the world’s best forwards, with 205 goals and 89 assists in 335 appearances for the club.
Alisson
Alisson cost £66.8m in July 2018 – an eye-catching fee which at the time made him the most expensive goalkeeper of all time, before Chelsea shelled out for Kepa Arrizabalaga a month later. The importance of having a goalkeeper who is comfortable coming off his line to sweep up in behind the high defensive line has been obvious for Liverpool, who have frequently relied on the Brazilian's shot-stopping ability.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane enjoyed six successful years at Liverpool (Andrew Powell/Getty Images)Liverpool have created a well-trodden path between Merseyside and Southampton over the years and Mane is just one of their many successful transfers. The Senegal international arrived on the back of two impressive seasons for the Saints and cost £34m in June 2016. He left Liverpool in the summer of 2022 with his reputation as a club legend established after contributing 120 goals and 48 assists in 269 appearances.
Andy Robertson
Robertson stands out from the others on this list because the Reds paid Hull City just £8m for his signature in July 2017. It was an inspired piece of understated business. The Scottish international has established himself as one of the best and most consistent left-backs in world football and his partnership with Trent Alexander-Arnold on the other flank has been a key trait of Klopp’s Liverpool side.
The flops
Naby Keita
It didn't work out for Naby Keita at Liverpool (Getty Images)Recruitment is notoriously difficult and no sporting director or scout has a 100 per cent hit rate. Edwards and his team couldn't have known that Keita would struggle with staying fit and that his £52.75m transfer fee from RB Leipzig would become a stick with which to beat him. The Guinea midfielder contributed just 11 goals and seven assists in 129 appearances, with his availability the main problem holding him back. After five frustrating years, he left in the summer and is now at Werder Bremen.
Dominic Solanke
Edwards' record at Liverpool is so strong that Solanke stands out as one of the least successful. Signed on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer of 2017, Solanke failed to find his feet with the club, scoring just once in 27 appearances. He is now proving to be the striker Edwards thought he was at Bournemouth, but can't be considered a success at Anfield, although a £19m profit shouldn't be sniffed at.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain never quite fulfilled his potential at Liverpool (Bagu Blanco/Pressinphoto/REX/Shutterstock)Again, we are nit-picking here, but Oxlade-Chamberlain never lived up to his billing at Liverpool, who paid £35m to sign him from Arsenal in August 2017. That was a coup at the time, but the England midfielder struggled for consistency over his six years with the club and 18 goals and 15 assists isn't a great return for an attack-minded player over 146 games.
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