Reports have been contrasting regarding the appointment of Jorg Schmadtke as Liverpool’s new sporting director. Schmadtke, a 59-year-old who had seemingly retired from football in January, is known for his recruitment that gets value for the budgets he is assigned. He has previously been sporting director at Aachen, Hannover, Koln and Wolfsburg. Merseyside reporter Dominic King has written that talks are advanced and that Schmadtke will sign a three-year deal to June 2026, coinciding with when Jurgen Klopp‘s contract expires. However, Jan Aage Fjortoft, usually a reliable source for German football news, has said that he understands it to be a three-month deal: “Just helping Liverpool out in the coming transfer window!” This would fit in with what other German reporters have said since the news broke in England over the weekend, that Schmadtke’s role will be a temporary one.
Current sporting director Julian Ward is leaving this summer, and Schmadtke is widely reported to take up the role at Anfield imminently. Already, reports have linked Schmadtke with making his first signing for the club, with an old transfer story about German goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler returning to the fore. Zieler, who was at Man United as a youth player and therefore qualifies as a Premier League ‘homegrown’ player, would arrive as a backup goalkeeper to replace the likely departure of Caoimhin Kelleher this summer. At age 34, Zieler would also provide experience and a mature head, with Adrian also leaving Liverpool this summer on the expiry of his contract. The appointment of Schmadtke will at least give some clarity after a season that has seen uncertainty around the owners and the senior management of the club.