Liverpool are in talks to hire Jörg Schmadtke as the club’s sporting director. If the German, who has worked for Wolfsburg, takes up a role at Liverpool, he will become a key member of the transfer committee for what will be an important summer of recruitment. Liverpool have been looking for a permanent replacement for the incumbent, Julian Ward, who will leave at the end of the season. Ward only replaced his predecessor Michael Edwards last summer but announced in November that he would depart at the conclusion of the current campaign. Schmadtke left Wolfsburg in February after more than four years as the club’s sporting director. The 59-year-old has held similar roles at Hannover and Cologne but is yet to work abroad. Upon leaving Wolfsburg, he said: “I’ve been doing all this for so long and I’ve realised that it’s time to end this chapter. There are other things in life that I would like to do. First and foremost I think of my wife, my family, who had to put back many years.” Jürgen Klopp has outlined his desire to bring in fresh faces this summer after a comparatively underwhelming campaign. It will be a busy period for Liverpool, who are set to allow Naby Keïta, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur Melo to leave Anfield. Liverpool have already accepted they will not be able to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund but midfield remains a key area of focus. Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and Moisés Caicedo, Chelsea’s Mason Mount, Matheus Nunes of Wolves and Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich are among the targets in that area of the team. Schmadtke had a successful playing career at Fortuna Düsseldorf and Freiburg, before starting his off-field career at Alemannia Aachen.