Richard Hughes is on the verge of making his first Liverpool appointment after the recruitment department underwent swift modifications.
Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s new sports director, is nearing his first appointment, with Bournemouth’s chief scout Mark Burchill set to join the club.
Hughes, who was headhunted by Fenway Sports Group’s new football CEO, Michael Edwards, was officially confirmed on Wednesday, and he will begin his new role on June 1 after leaving Bournemouth at the end of the Premier League season.
However, the newly appointed Hughes has lost little time in forming his staff at the AXA Training Centre, with preparations to bring Burchill with him from the Vitality Stadium already in place.
It is anticipated that Burchill’s hiring would be in support of chief scout Barry Hunter and director of recruiting Dave Fallows, whose work behind the scenes over the last five years has been critical to Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s success.
It is unclear what Burchill’s job title will be, but he is in talks to join the club’s recruitment department on Hughes’ recommendation, after the two formed a strong working relationship while at the Cherries.
Burchill, a former Scotland striker who has worked in the scouting team since 2017, was a key part of the work behind the scenes on the south coast that helped Bournemouth establish itself as a Premier League club.
Burchill will be part of a fresh new structure at Anfield, with Edwards taking over as day-to-day manager from FSG president Mike Gordon and Hughes becoming the club’s first external and permanent appointment to the position of sporting director.
Jurgen Klopp will be replaced by a new manager at the end of the season, after the talismanic German announced his surprise intention to leave in late January.
The hiring adds to the reinvigoration of the football operations department, which will lose assistant managers Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, as well as elite-development coach Vitor Matos and Klopp later this year.
“I am fully aware of the expectations and responsibilities that come with taking this position,” Hughes stated on Wednesday, after his appointment was confirmed. “It will be my responsibility to make sound judgments while working with Michael [Edwards] and overseeing the existing football operations team, as well as the rest of the staff at the AXA Training Centre.
“That’s exactly what the job entails: you have to make the kind of good decisions that improve the chances of having a winning team that excites the fans.” Liverpool has done well in this area for a long time, and the results are visible to all.”
