Cheeky devil! How Ratcliffe can ruin Liverpool's post-Klopp rebuild

Robin Bairner

• 7 Mar 2024 07:51 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe could sabotage the plans of rivals Liverpool as the Anfield club builds towards the post-Jurgen Klopp era.

It has already been confirmed by Klopp that he will leave the club at the end of the season – a possibility exclusively reported by FootballTransfers last summer – and this has left significant question marks over how Liverpool will recover from such a blow.

Beyond the manager, there is the possibility of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and even Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving in the summer, where they have just a year left on their deals. The Reds are at a major crossroads.

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The Independent reports that one of the priorities for Liverpool is a new sporting director.

Michael Edwards is the club’s preferred option, but while a return to Anfield is not excluded, it appears that he will not be going back to the club.

Bournemouth’s Richard Hughes, another candidate for the Reds, is expected to go to Newcastle to replace Man Utd-bound Dan Ashworth.

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This leaves Liverpool running out of options, with Nice sporting director Florent Ghisolfi one of the few credible candidates for the post.

However, the Ligue 1 side are owned by none other than Ratcliffe, with the Independent stating that the Ineos boss is likely to be “reluctant” to allow him to join one of the Red Devils’ direct rivals.

This leaves Frederic Massara, who left AC Milan in February, as the sole credible candidate for the job. Clearly, Liverpool would like more options.

Who is Florent Ghisolfi?

Ghisolfi was a particularly attractive proposition for Liverpool.

The Frenchman worked wonders at Lens, where he worked in conjunction with Franck Haise, touted as a potential candidate to replace Klopp, to drive the unfashionable side to within a point of PSG in the Ligue 1 title race last season.

Although the 39-year-old joined Nice in October 2022, it was his recruitment that allowed Lens to enjoy so much success last term, including a return to the Champions League.

Nice, meanwhile, are challenging for the top four in France this time around.