Liverpool have chance to land sporting director who could be perfect fit for FSG
Many football fans are obsessed with transfers and the notion that spending huge sums – ‘winning’ the transfer window – is the fast track to stardom. But the list of the most expensive signings of all time shows that a high price does not guarantee success, either at the individual or team level.
Getting the most out of a transfer is extremely difficult, regardless of the cost. It won’t set pulses racing or win hoax wars on social media, but appointing the right person to oversee the transfer process is arguably more important to a club than signing.
Liverpool have proved this theory better than most, with former sporting director Michael Edwards’ work being so successful that fans joke about building a statue of him outside Anfield. His successor Julian Ward oversaw the signings of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez but will leave the club this summer. Ward is now said to be the favorite for a similar role at Ajax but who will replace him at Liverpool?
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Football Insider has claimed it could be Tim Steidten, a 43-year-old former defensive midfielder who was sporting director at Bayer Leverkusen but left by mutual consent earlier this week. Steidten has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea following Todd Boehly’s purchase of the club last year, while Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as Liverpool, are now reportedly considering taking his services.
Bayer Leverkusen’s dealings make it clear why he would appeal to Fenway Sports Group. According to Transfermarkt, Steidten’s now-former club have made net spend of just €24.25m since 2018/19, the sixth-highest among the 18 clubs currently playing in Germany’s top flight.
Still, the value of their squad is estimated at €416.35 million, a 58.4 percent increase from five years ago and the fourth-highest in the Bundesliga. Although their numbers differ, a study by the CIES Football Observatory this week ranks the Leverkusen squad 20thth most valuable in Europe, despite having just 25 players when the 19 clubs above them own an average of 40.2. Jurgen Klopp enjoys working with a tight-knit squad and Steidten has helped put together a relatively valuable squad with a much smaller budget than Liverpool would offer him.
Leverkusen places a heavy emphasis on data in their scouting, which will only bring Steidten further to the Brain Trust at Anfield. Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes explained more in an interview with Bulinews.com in November.
“In some cases we pre-filter players, especially in markets where we can’t see every game. It’s all getting a lot smarter and you can do a lot more with data than just tracking passes,” he said. “For example, limb tracking can be used in the future to find out how often players turn their heads to observe their surroundings,” added Rolfes, and that’s likely the kind of statistical work Liverpool’s next research director, Will, will do Spearman and his team are already taking action.
Without wanting to look too far into the future, Steidten was involved in the appointment of Xabi Alonso as Leverkusen coach last October. The former Reds midfielder led them to the fourth-best record in the Bundesliga at the age of 17 during his tenureth when he took over.
Alonso could potentially be in the running to take over if Klopp leaves Liverpool and perhaps having someone at the club he has worked with could be pivotal in his favour. But that’s for another day. For now, Steidten seems to have the credentials the club are looking for in their next sporting director. Those who use data to get the best out of the transfer market always have a chance of success at FSG.
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