Newcastle United are looking for a replacement for Dan Ashworth, but former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards is not interested in taking up the role again.
Newcastle have begun looking for a replacement for Ashworth after the 52-year-old was placed on gardening leave. Ashworth informed the club he wanted to go over the weekend, but Manchester United would have to pay a large compensation sum of up to £20 million to shorten his extended notice term.
Manchester United will try to lower the price, but Newcastle will continue with their own plans. CEO Darren Eales has promised that ‘our exciting adventure doesn’t stop,’ and it would be surprising if Edwards’ name did not come up in the next days and weeks.
Edwards is currently a consultant with Ludonautics, a sports advice organization dedicated to assisting clubs in making better decisions by providing access to analytical statistical data, although this does not exclude the former Liverpool sporting director from taking on another post. According to ChronicleLive, Edwards admires Eddie Howe and Newcastle’s performance.
However, Edwards currently has no interest in becoming a sporting director. In reality, the 44-year-old has received offers for far more prestigious jobs, including a spectacular return to Liverpool, but has not accepted them.
Edwards has plenty of admirers at Newcastle, though, if he changes his mind, and at his launch in 2021, Howe stated the sports director was someone he ‘hugely respects in the game, in what he does, and what he’s done for Liverpool. It’s difficult to picture many people being so aligned in the field.
Howe was a Portsmouth player when he first met Edwards, who worked as Harry Redknapp’s head of performance analysis. The two remained in touch, and Howe met Edwards during his vacation at Liverpool’s training ground before taking over as manager of Newcastle.
Jurgen Klopp went so far as to call Edwards ‘one of the best I’ve ever met,’ while Mike Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group, correctly predicted that his ‘contribution and achievements will stand the test of time given the role he has played in helping to rebuild and shape the club into what we see today’.
Edwards not only helped bring Klopp to Anfield, but also a slew of crucial players such as Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson, and Roberto Firmino, as Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 and ended a 30-year league title drought in 2020. Edwards’ ability to drive a hard bargain with outgoings was also impressive, whether it was the £142 million collected from the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona or Liverpool’s large fees for periphery players such as Christian Benteke, Mamadou Sakho, and Jordan Ibe.
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