Liverpool are set to appoint Joerg Schmadtke are their new sporting director.
Schmadtke, 59, is expected to come out of retirement and support Jurgen Klopp as the Reds prepare for a critical summer after a below-par campaign. Liverpool will miss out on Champions League football next season, barring a minor miracle with Manchester United and Newcastle on course to book their top-four place in the Premier League.
The Reds realistically need United to lose both of their remaining matches against Chelsea and Fulham and hope they beat Southampton on the final day. That would secure their spot in Europe's elite club competition, while Newcastle have all but sealed their place, having accumulated a much better goal difference.
Liverpool's six-year stay in the Champions League is set to come to an end and the Reds must invest and sign wisely in the summer. Now, according to the Times, Schmadtke will come out of retirement to work alongside Klopp and bid to ensure they have a successful transfer window.
Klopp's side won't have the lure of Champions League football compared to previous years, but neither did United last season and they managed to sign the likes of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Antony. Liverpool have arguably got a bigger pull given they finished second last term and also won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Schmadkte will be keen to help the Reds recruit well ahead of their return to Europa League football - five months after he left Wolfsburg. He is replacing Julian Ward as the sporting director and the deal will come with an option to extend should both parties be happy.
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When asked about Schmadkte's move to Liverpool on Friday, Klopp said: "If it happens, it would not be a Jürgen Klopp signing because we are both German or both know each other. That would have nothing to do with it. I can say that.
"Jörg Schmadtke, I have known for a long, long time. He knows me probably not as long as I know him, because he was a much better player, but we started in a similar moment our second career.
"I became a coach at Mainz and he became sporting director at Aachen — two teams of similar status, so from there we know each other a little bit. I know he is a good guy and a smart guy. Very good at what he did in Germany, definitely, very successful. His character is good, his personality is good, his humour is good. I know that from a few moments next to the pitch."
Schmadtke, a former goalkeeper at Freiburg and Fortuna Dusseldorf, will work closely with the head of recruitment, Dave Fallows, and chief scout, Barry Hunter. Liverpool could be busy in the summer and are on the lookout to sign midfielders as their priority target, with Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount two potential incomings.
Mac Allister has impressed at Brighton so far this season, scoring 10 goals and providing two assists and he is set to leave the South Coast club this summer. As for Mount, he could be amongst a number of players to leave Chelsea, with Arsenal also interested in the 24-year-old.
