Rodgers Will Have Final Say on Players

As we inch closer to the official opening of the transfer window, speculation around the incoming and outgoing players at Liverpool is ratcheting up higher each and every day. With moves for the likes of Southampton captain Adam Lallana and Bayer Leverkusen youngster Emre Can in the works, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has shed a little light on the process at Anfield.

With Fenway Sports Group dismissing their original idea of installing a Director of Football to oversee transfers, instead, a Transfer Committee has been in place for the last two years consisting of the boss, managing director Ian Ayre, head of recruitment Dave Fallows and head of performance and analysis Michael Edwards. Although each and every member has a key role to play from start to finish, Rodgers was quick to point out that he has final say on who comes into the squad.

“Obviously, I am involved heavily in the identification of the player,” said the Northern Irishman. “The principle idea when I first came in was that like any manager you will have the first call on a player and the last call.” With a handful of players brought in — namely, Iago Aspas and Oussama Assaidi — that the manager seemed to have no interest in using, more control over transfer proceedings was apparently one of the major items up for discussion in his recent contract talks. Whether this is the case or not, the Anfield boss has remained diplomatic.

“In modern football you need to trust other people to do the work. That’s something we do here and that’s why we have had the success we’ve had” he explained. “The finer details of that are left to Ian who does a terrific job and our other guys in that field who will go through the contracts. I am aware of where the situation is at right the way through the process.”

After securing Champions League football for the first time since 2009, there’s expected to be major movements on Merseyside this summer, with everyone working together towards one common cause. “We will never bring in a player here who the manager doesn’t want in. That’s a great credit to the owners and the other people at the club” enthused Rodgers. “We work very closely together – it’s worth stressing that. It’s key that we are very much one club. We are really preparing for next season. I’ve had some very good meetings with our recruitment team. We are very much together as one.”