Liverpool are sounding out external candidates in their hunt for a new sporting director, with Brentford technical director Lee Dykes among those to have held talks with the club.
Yet the smart money still points towards an internal solution.
Julian Ward, currently Liverpool’s technical director, is viewed as a leading contender to step up and replace Richard Hughes, whose departure for Al-Hilal was confirmed at the start of the month. Ward knows the club, knows the structure, and crucially, knows the expectations of Fenway Sports Group.
At the heart of the process sits FSG president Mike Gordon, the key decision-maker once again as Liverpool reshape the hierarchy behind the scenes. The conversations with external figures are serious, but they are also a benchmark: a way of testing the market against what the club already has in-house.
Dykes features prominently in that external pool. Since arriving at Brentford in May 2019, he has been a central figure in the club’s rise and consolidation as a Premier League side after promotion in 2021. Recruitment, squad planning, value in the market – his fingerprints are all over Brentford’s model, and that track record has not gone unnoticed at Anfield.
Liverpool also admire Brentford sporting director Phil Giles, another architect of the west London club’s sustained top-flight presence. Tempting him away, though, is seen as a far tougher task, such is his importance to the Bees’ project and the stability he enjoys there.
FSG have held discussions with several external candidates beyond Dykes as they test every option. The picture is clear, though: Liverpool are carefully weighing the appeal of proven operators elsewhere against the continuity and control offered by promoting from within.
The next appointment will shape the club’s sporting direction for years. Whether the answer comes from Brentford’s admired structure or from Liverpool’s own corridors, the decision now rests with Gordon and a hierarchy determined to get this one right.
