Liverpool are on the hunt for a new Sporting Director, and it seems as though whoever will be taking up this role will have to work closely with Jurgen Klopp.
Indeed, The Telegraph report that the Reds are going to give Klopp more of a hands-on role in terms of recruitment, and therefore, whichever Sporting Director he works with will have to be someone who Klopp sees eye-to-eye with and trusts.
That’s where recent links to Sven Mislintat have surfaced from. Klopp, of course, worked with the German during their time together at Borussia Dortmund, and, by all accounts, that relationship remains strong.
However, in our view, there’s another ex-Dortmund man who could be a standout candidate for this job – Zeljko Buvac.
Buvac, of course, worked at Liverpool for a couple of years as Klopp’s assistant, and the pair have known each other for almost 20 years now, dating back to Klopp’s time at Mainz.
Buvac knows Klopp’s system, style and personality to a tee, so who better to work alongside him on recruitment?
Klopp himself has the utmost trust in Buvac’s judgement previously describing him as ‘the brain’ behind his operation, stating that he’s ‘the best signing he’s ever made’ at one point.
Sadly, Buvac did leave Liverpool in the past for ‘personal reasons’ and an interview with The Athletic seemed to suggest that he and Klopp’s relationship had soured due to the power dynamic meaning that Klopp was the man in the spotlight more often than not.
However, in modern football, the role of a Sporting Director and the role of a manager are on an even keel, so the dynamics between Buvac and Klopp would be different, and perhaps preferential, for the 61-year-old.
The Bosnian may have made his name as a coach, but he’s now very much a Sporting Director, spending the last few years over at Dynamo Moscow fulfilling that role.
Klopp and Buvac being reunited could be just what the doctor ordered at Liverpool amid all of this uncertainty.
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