Liverpool FC News: Former director reveals key to Mohamed Salah signing

A key ex-Anfield figure who helped Liverpool win the Champions League and Premier League has revealed how significant data was in the Reds' excellent recruitment over the past decade. 

Ian Graham was Director of Research for the Reds in a period spanning over a decade, starting his time at the club in 2012 when Brendan Rodgers was in charge and leaving ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s final season in 2023. 

As Director of Research, Graham worked closely with Michael Edwards during his sporting director days, and some of the signings they oversaw went on to become key players during Klopp's reign.

Read more: Cup-winning Liverpool youngster drops MASSIVE social media exit hint amid Red Bull Salzburg interest

Speaking to the Times, Graham said: "If you go back to our signings at Liverpool, all the way back to January 2013 when we signed [Daniel] Sturridge and [Philippe] Coutinho, all of the best signings had the go-ahead from data, the go-ahead from scouting and the go-ahead from Michael’s detailed video work that he did on players as well."

Rodgers and Klopp's transfers

Graham also touched on the key differences between ex-Liverpool managers Rodgers and Klopp, with the former described as a ‘fundamentalist’ who was rigid in terms of playing style and steadfastly refused to accept that other players might be a better fit.

This came to a head in the summer of 2015 when Rodgers asked the club to go all out and sign Christian Benteke from Aston Villa, whereas the recruitment team, led by Graham and Edwards, wanted Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim.

Eventually, both were signed, but obviously one of the two forwards has a far greater Anfield legacy than the other.

Klopp on the other hand, according to Graham, was far more flexible. Still wanting a significant say in transfers, the German was far happier to trust the recruitment team, most notably in the signing of Mohamed Salah - although that came with a caveat at the end of his tenure.

"[Darwin] Nunez was more on Jurgen’s radar, but it wasn’t like a Benteke situation where it was a case of go and sign this player even though he is completely inappropriate for Liverpool," stated Graham.

'One of the best squads in the league'

Whether or not Liverpool can compete immediately for the Premier League title under new boss Slot was also something Graham spoke about in his wide-ranging interview.

"The nice thing about him is he took a traditionally big club that hadn’t been successful and brought success back," admitted Graham. "He took a set of players who maybe weren’t the best in the league and got the best out of them and he plays an attractive brand of football.

"So he ticks all the boxes and, when I was at Liverpool and looking at Klopp, they were exactly the sort of features we were looking for in a coach."

Graham added: "The [Liverpool] squad is one of the best squads in the league. Manchester City are still heavy favourites. When you have a team that is coached by the best manager in the world and can bring in talent from wherever it wants and from its partner clubs it is very difficult to compete against.

"I would say Liverpool are up there with a similar squad to Arsenal but they are behind Man City ‒ as the rest of the world is."