Ian Ayre: Brendan Rodgers had last say on transfers

The Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre has dismissed the notion of a transfer committee at Anfield and reiterated that new manager Jürgen Klopp will have the final say on incoming players.

Klopp arrived at Liverpool last month and was immediately questioned by the media over the infamous transfer committee which has come under intense scrutiny following a number of disappointing signings.

Ayre has been part of the group that, under owners Fenway Sports Group, helped to identify and sign players for the former manager Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked in the wake of the Merseyside derby.

Rodgers, the head of recruitment Dave Fallows, chief scout Barry Hunter, head of performance and analysis Michael Edwards, Ayre and FSG’s president Mike Gordon comprised the group that had decided Liverpool’s transfer strategy over the past three years.

However, speaking at the Web Summit in Dublin, Ayre made it clear that Klopp was now in control of recruitment, while also claiming the transfer process at the club was “very smart”.

“Brendan had the final say on all the players we signed,” said Ayre. “There’s only one person that has the final say over what players at Liverpool Football Club and that’s Jürgen Klopp right now. That’s always been the case for as long as I’ve been here.

“The words ‘transfer committee’ I think got used once and became this idea that we all sit round a table and have a vote on every player we sign. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The point that has been made about the committee, and I don’t think we did anything any different to most football clubs, is that the manager will say we are looking for somebody in this position and a bunch of people – a mix of traditional scouts and more recently analytical and digital-based information – bring all of that together as was always the case.

“Then we look at two, three, four players, the best players for that position, show them to the manager and the manager can go watch or have the scouts go watch those players and narrow it down. At that point I’ll become more involved and start talking to clubs, agents, players on a negotiations basis and then the manager will choose.

“That’s never changed. I’ve been at the football club eight years.

“The committee and we don’t think of it as a committee, just the media do, is really a collaboration of all those people that all contribute to let the manager make that decision, and I think that’s very smart.”

Meanwhile, captain Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge could both return to the first-team picture after the international break. Henderson has returned to outdoor training following a six-week layoff, because of a broken bone in his foot, while Sturridge is being nursed back to fitness following a knee injury. The duo could be in the squad to face Manchester City in the televised clash on November 21st.

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