Jörg Schmadtke seems to be the potential candidate to become Liverpool’s next sporting director. If he joins the club this summer, this is what might happen.
Since the former sporting director announced his intention to leave his position in the summer, Liverpool has spent a considerable amount of time searching for Julian Ward’s replacement.
The Reds appear to have identified Ward’s natural heir, though, as of late.
Schmadtke is the front-runner for the Liverpool director position.
According to The Telegraph, Jörg Schmadtke and Liverpool are in advanced negotiations. He is a fellow German and, according to the report, is close with Jürgen Klopp, making him an excellent choice for the Liverpool board of directors.
Before leaving Wolfsburg earlier this year for personal reasons, Schmadtke had a long career there.
Schmadtke informed Kicker that he was quitting his job.
I also want to do other things in life. My wife and my family, who have long had to take a back seat, come first in my thoughts. It’s time to wrap up this chapter. ”.
But,” Schmadtke tacked on. It’s possible that after three months, I lose my ability to handle it. Even worse: My wife once more yells at me to leave the house. ”.
Though it has been a little longer than three months, it appears that prediction may have been accurate. Schmadtke’s brief absence from the sport may end the same way that Klopp’s did when Liverpool knocked on his door.
Therefore, the following four outcomes are possible should he be appointed:.
Efficient use of the budget
Even though Liverpool’s and FSG’s operating budgets were significantly smaller than Schmadtke’s, he consistently produced admirable results.
Only once during his five seasons at Wolfsburg did Schmadtke spend more than $45 million (£35 million/€40 million). Despite this, he has a talent for spending money wisely and hiring some extraordinary talent.
When the player joined Wolfsburg, the team had just barely escaped relegation. Under his guidance, Schmadtke helped the team transform into a regular European contender, even reaching the Champions League.
Ridle Baku, Maxence Lacroix, Aster Vranckx, Jonas Wind, Matias Svanberg, Wout Weghorst, Patrick Wimmer, and Jakub Kaminski are just a few of the talented individuals he hired during his time there.
Some of these stars have since been linked with big-money moves elsewhere. Weghorst is now at Manchester United and Vranckx is at AC Milan.
At Liverpool, Schmadtke will be given a larger budget by FSG but will still have to operate on a tight scale compared to the club’s rivals. His track record at Wolfsburg indicates he is prepared for the challenge.
In fact, his ability to extract maximum value from budgets may make him the perfect figurehead for the FSG strategy.
EXPLORING NEW MARKETS.
Due to Schmadtke’s limited budget at Wolfsburg, he has often had to delve into alternative markets within European and world football to find talent.
He has frequently scouted the Austrian Bundesliga, tapped into the Polish Ekstraklasa market with recruits such as the talented Kaminski, and discovered big names from relative obscurity like Lacroix from Sochaux in Ligue 2 and Jonas Wind from Copenhagen.
Recently, he has also ventured into growing markets in Asia and the United States.
He signed Yun-sang Hong from Pohang Steelers in South Korea back in 2021. The following year, he brought in Kevin Paredes from DC United, who has contributed four goals in just 434 minutes this season, averaging 0.82 goal contributions per 90 minutes.
Again, this Moneyball-esque approach to identifying undervalued regions would suit FSG’s strategy down to a tee.
MAINTAINING RED BULL CONNECTIONS
Under Michael Edwards, Liverpool forged a strong relationship with Red Bull’s clubs, most notably RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.
With signings like Takumi Minamino, Naby Keïta, and Ibrahima Konaté in just a few years, Edwards established robust connections.
Schmadtke must also possess relatively strong ties with the energy drink empire. During his time at Wolfsburg, he acquired more than one player from only three clubs, and one of them was Red Bull Salzburg — the other two being LASK and Manchester City.
In the case of Xaver Schlager, Schmadtke then went on to sell his recruit from Salzburg to another Red Bull team, Leipzig.
Having conducted business with Red Bull clubs in both sales and purchases, he must have built a strong rapport. Liverpool played both Leipzig and Salzburg in pre-season friendlies last summer, and hiring Schmadtke would allow those cordial relations to continue.
INCREASED LOAN ACTIVITY
At Wolfsburg, Schmadtke often utilised the loan market rather than directly selling players.
Victor Osimhen, for example, was sent out on loan before being sold. Josip Brekalo, Marin Pongracic, Elvis Rexhbecaj, Omar Marmoush, Felix Uduokhai, Aster Vranckx, and Maximilian Philipp have all had temporary moves away from the club at one point or another.
Sometimes, in the case of players like Marmoush, sporting director Schmadtke employed loan spells to help them integrate back into the first team. For others like Brekalo, Uduokhai, and Rexhbecaj, loans were used to increase their transfer fees.
Currently, a similar situation is occurring with Vranckx, Philipp, and Pongracic, who are all out on loan at Serie A or Bundesliga clubs.
Under Julian Ward, Liverpool increased its loan market activity, sending numerous academy players out on loan. Perhaps under Schmadtke, this strategy could continue, with FSG undoubtedly eager to extract maximum value when selling players in order to maintain its self-sustaining approach.
