Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke has revealed Jurgen Klopp will have the final say over who the club signs this summer.
Schmadtke was unveiled as the club's replacement for Julian Ward on Tuesday, who will depart his role at Anfield after more than ten years of service.
2
The 59-year-old will begin his new role on June 1 - just months after he left his director's role at Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg.
It is expected to be a busy summer for Schmadtke and Liverpool, with the club linked with midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount.
And speaking to German news outlet Sport1, the former Freiburg goalkeeper has lifted the lid on how he will work alongside Klopp and the recruitment team in bringing in new players.
He said: "The influence of the coach on transfers is greater in England than in Germany, where a sports director holds everything in one hand.
"Jurgen Klopp sets the priorities. We set him up with a team of data analysts, scouts and so on, so he can then choose from a list of players who he wants to work with.
"Then I'll deal with the transfers with the responsible departments in the club. And, in the end, the owners have to be satisfied with the investments.
"If we like each other, we can work together beyond the transfer window. Let's see. Then we continue or not."
He added of Klopp: "We're not that close to each other. We were in the Bundesliga at the same time. He as a coach, I as a sports director, you know each other.
Most read in Football
2
"I know his advisor Marc Kosicke better. He maintains a good exchange with the owners of Liverpool FC.
"When the current sporting director announced that he wanted to leave for personal reasons, Marc told them: 'If you are looking for an older and experienced manager for the transfer period, you might want to look into Jorg Schmadtke from Germany.'"
And Schmadtke then revealed he hasn't been given a set warchest by Fenway Sports Group for this summer.
He remarked: "I don't have a budget yet! Seriously, transfers are always complicated.
"When a player moves from A to B, it's mostly about small things that are difficult to influence and unrelated to making money.
"For example, how the player integrates with his family in the city, what his place in the team should be, how he can show his maximum performance.
"You have to take that into account. The sums involved in these transfers are almost irrelevant."
YOU MIGHT LIKE
