Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Michael Edwards would have been “dumb” to have asked him to postpone his departure from Anfield after the former sporting director returned to the club as chief executive of football on Tuesday.
Edwards, who spent 10 years at Liverpool between 2011 and 2022, worked closely with Klopp following his appointment in 2015 – but the German says he did not ask him to reverse the decision he announced in January to leave at the end of this season for the good of his wellbeing.
Asked if Edwards had tried to persuade him, Klopp replied: “No, because – and this is really important for the job – he is not dumb.
“We always had a really good relationship. Now he’s back, I’m really happy. I want to see the club in the best possible place”.
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Liverpool are hoping to add the Premier League, FA Cup and Uefa Europa League to the Carabao Cup they have lifted in Klopp’s final season, making top scorer Mohamed Salah’s return from a hamstring injury which has troubled him for much of 2024 particularly welcome.
Salah injury: Forward ‘ready’
Klopp said he had been surprised by how long the Egypt captain had been out for but said Salah is ready to start after featuring for little more than 90 minutes across three matches since January 1.
“It’s super-important that we build up Mo,” emphasised Klopp. “He’s ready for 90 minutes. Everything is good now.”
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Salah’s fellow recent absentees have included goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and forward Diogo Jota.
“I couldn’t tell you at the moment what I will do even if I wanted to,” Klopp replied when he was asked for team news before the Europa League round of 16 second leg at home to Sparta Praha on Thursday, when Liverpool will start with a 5-1 advantage.
“In these times, people wait until the last second to say they have a few niggles or might need an extra day.
“We had that yesterday with a few players. The idea is to have the best legs for the game.”
Liverpool travel to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday before a 14-day international break ends with the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion in the league.
