Michael Edwards could be ready to offer a genius swap deal that could work out perfectly for Liverpool.
The next step in the club's recruitment will be to sign a winger.
There is no question about that. Even without Mo Salah's departure, the Reds are lacking in that department. But now that he is leaving signing at least one winger, if not two has become a necessity.
Over the course of the season it has become apparent that Liverpool's wingers, Salah and Cody Gakpo, like to cut inside and drift towards central channels and this clashes with the movements of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
This tendency naturally narrows Liverpool’s attacking shape. Without players consistently holding width, opposition defenses can stay compact and limit the space available for Liverpool’s creators.
At present, Rio Ngumoha stands out as the only player in the squad who profiles as a more traditional winger.
He is comfortable staying wide, taking on defenders on the outside, and delivering from the byline. However, Liverpool should not have to rely on a 17-year-old.
But you can't rely on Ngumoha alone.
So, a big summer is coming for Michael Edwards and his recruitment team. Recently, Edwards has come under fire with the revelation that FSG’s plan to buy a second club has become ‘dormant.’
Edwards was brought in at Liverpool to oversee not only the Reds’ operations from a football perspective but also potentially another club’s under FSG’s umbrella.
This doesn’t seem likely to happen anymore and that could see Edwards’ focus return solely back on Liverpool. Ahead of the summer window that is great news because Edwards is excellent at this side of his job.
He is the perfect person to balance both data and the eye test. Edwards was always attentive and listened to his recruitment team. Because of his nous for spotting talent he was able to find some absolute gems who would turn out to be superstars during his first tenure.
On top of everything, he's also an elite negotiator who can secure bargain deals.
And it looks like that's exactly what he is planning to do with a genius 'swap deal' this summer.
According to Paul Joyce writing in The Times, Liverpool are interested in Yan Diomande. He is a player who makes a lot of sense because he is exactly the touchline winger Liverpool need.
Diomande is rapid, he excels in one vs one situations and he will bring that directness and dynamism that Liverpool are lacking at the moment.
He comes from Red Bull, so he's got that pressing and Liverpool way of playing ingrained in him having spent a year at Leipzig now.
And at 19-years-old, he is still extremely young and capable of reaching levels even greater than his current level, which is already very impressive.
Joyce also suggested in The Times that Liverpool could use Harvey Elliott as part of the deal in a sensational swap move to bring down Diomande's £85m price tag.
This would be a genius swap deal from Edwards. It's of the same playbook as the Jarell Quansah and Florian Wirtz transfers last summer.
And it's one well worth keeping a close eye on.
