Jamie Carragher shares what Michael Edwards told him about Liverpool transfers

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Jamie Carragher says Michael Edwards told him the real secret behind Liverpool transfers. The Reds rely on one ‘biggest’ factor.

Jamie Carragher talked to the Neville Southall podcast recently, where Liverpool naturally came up. He discussed the Reds’ transfer business – the backbone of their success in recent years.

Liverpool earned acclaim with their transfers over the last seven years. It seems that they get every deal right, securing some world-class players out of nowhere.

And there’s one ‘biggest factor’ behind that, says Carragher. He talked to former sporting director Michael Edwards, who told him the secret behind clinching incredible transfers.

“I spoke to the guy who left Liverpool, Michael Edwards, I spoke to him two or three years ago,” said Carragher. “You’re probably not going to like hearing this Nev.

“He said Liverpool have been famed for the last four or five years being great in the transfer market, being ahead of the curve, getting players, going under the radar in terms of press speculation.

“He said the biggest thing for them was the relationship with agents. Whether that’s speaking to them, financially I’m sure that plays a big part as well, it was startling really.”

Liverpool transfers need agents

It’s a part of it all that you perhaps forget about. Building a relationship with player agents – who hold more power than ever right now – will naturally make things easier in the transfer market.

Obviously, you need the money to make deals happen but agents are the ones who know what’s going on. They’ll know if a player is available, what it takes to get him, and offer clubs communication with targets that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

Liverpool must nail that part of it. Edwards’ reputation is such that if he says it’s the ‘biggest’ part of it, then it almost certainly is.

The Reds have a problem there, though. Edwards is now gone, taking his relationships with him. Julian Ward – who worked as Edwards’ assistant before taking the sporting director role himself – also leaves this summer.

Liverpool may need to build a lot of their relationships with agents all over again.