Not Schmadtke: Liverpool fans will be confused as Hogan crucial in Caicedo negotiation – BBC

Jorg Schmadtke was brought to Anfield so that he could help our summer midfield rebuild but it seems that he has so far failed to negotiate a deal with another club, including with the Moises Caicedo deal.

As reported by Simon Stone for BBC Sport: ‘While all the noise was around Chelsea’s efforts to sign Caicedo, it is understood Reds chief executive Billy Hogan worked quietly behind the scenes to get this deal in place.

‘Brighton had a figure they wanted for Caicedo – someone they believe could go on to become one of the world’s best – and Hogan’s approach allowed Liverpool to get there’.

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With Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai arriving after the Reds met transfer clauses and the repeated failed attempts to agree a deal with Southampton for Romeo Lavia, it had looked like the Brighton agreement was finally a master stroke by our new sporting director.

However, this above report certainly suggests that it was in fact chief executive Billy Hogan who played a key role in ensuring that we managed to agree a record-breaking deal with the Seagulls.

It may all now have been for nothing as the continued confusion over Chelsea’s role in the move for the Ecuadorian continues but the fact that the American took the fore, ahead of the German, is quite surprising.

With the former Wolfsburg man initially only arriving on a three-month deal, it’s looking quite likely that we won’t see this extended at present – given his lack of impact at the club to date.

#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones