Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Target Frankfurt Sporting Director

Liverpool have another senior football appointment to make, and it lands at a busy point for the club. According to BBC Sport’s Aadam Patel on 7 September 2026, Richard Hughes’ move to Al-Hilal is now confirmed, leaving Liverpool looking for a new sporting director for the fifth time since 2022.

That makes the phrase “Liverpool target Frankfurt sporting director” worth handling carefully. The supplied sourced reporting confirms the vacancy and names several possible candidates, but it does not confirm a move for Frankfurt’s sporting director.

The more useful question is what Liverpool are actually dealing with now: who is running the search, which names BBC Sport has put forward, and what the next sporting director will inherit once appointed.

What is confirmed about Liverpool’s sporting director search

BBC Sport reported on 7 September 2026 that Liverpool are seeking a new sporting director after Hughes’ move to Al-Hilal was confirmed. Hughes joined Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and, according to BBC Sport, oversaw the appointments of Arne Slot and Andoni Iraola.

BBC Sport also reported that Hughes told the club earlier this year that he wanted a new challenge in Saudi Arabia. The report says Mike Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group, is overseeing the process to replace him.

The known details are clear:

• Richard Hughes has left for Al-Hilal, according to BBC Sport.
• Mike Gordon is overseeing the search, according to the same report.
• Liverpool want to move quickly, BBC Sport reported.
• Internal candidates are being considered, while an external appointment has not been ruled out.
• Liverpool want someone committed long term, according to BBC Sport.

That is the confirmed base of the story. Anything beyond that, including the Frankfurt line, needs a named source before it can be treated as more than unconfirmed reporting.

Is the Frankfurt sporting director link confirmed?

No. In the supplied source, BBC Sport does not report that Liverpool have approached, interviewed or chosen a sporting director from Frankfurt.

That distinction matters because Liverpool’s vacancy is real, but a real vacancy does not confirm every name attached to it. The phrase “Liverpool target Frankfurt sporting director” may reflect rumour talk elsewhere, but based on the provided reporting, it remains unconfirmed.

A cautious reading is the fairest one for supporters. Liverpool are looking. Frankfurt’s sporting director is not named in the BBC Sport candidate list supplied here.

The candidates BBC Sport did name

BBC Sport did put several names in the frame, and most of them have existing links to Liverpool or Fenway Sports Group.

David Woodfine

BBC Sport named David Woodfine as one possible candidate. The report says he was Hughes’ assistant and had previously been Liverpool’s director of loans.

BBC Sport also reported that Woodfine was pictured giving Iraola a tour of the facilities at the AXA Training Centre when Iraola arrived in June. That does not confirm he will get the job, but it explains why he appears in the discussion.

Julian Ward

BBC Sport also named Julian Ward. Ward was Liverpool’s sporting director between 2022 and 2023, according to the report.

BBC Sport credits Ward’s period in that role with the signings of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez. The same report says Ward is now FSG’s technical director.

Pedro Marques

Pedro Marques is another FSG-linked name in the BBC Sport report. BBC Sport says Marques is FSG’s director of football development.

The report also says he was previously technical director at Benfica, where he helped sign Enzo Fernandez for £10m, and before that worked as a first-team performance analyst at Manchester City.

Luis Campos

BBC Sport describes Paris St-Germain’s Luis Campos as the strongest external appointment Liverpool could make. The same report says Campos is unlikely to view his immediate future away from the European champions.

That is as far as the sourced reporting goes. There is no Frankfurt name in that list.

The in-tray waiting for Hughes’ successor

The next sporting director will not walk into a quiet desk. BBC Sport reported that Hughes has taken two members of Liverpool’s recruitment staff, Mark Burchill and Craig McKee, to the Middle East.

BBC Sport also said Liverpool have changed managers, welcomed new investors, lost senior players and seen their sporting director leave a year earlier than expected. Michael Edwards, who appointed Hughes, also resigned as FSG’s CEO of Football, according to the same report.

Alisson and Virgil van Dijk

BBC Sport reported that Alisson’s deal expires at the end of the season. The same report said Juventus were interested in the Brazil goalkeeper this summer, but Liverpool had no intention of letting him leave.

According to BBC Sport, Iraola appointed Alisson one of his vice-captains and the goalkeeper has started all three of Liverpool’s league games so far. BBC Sport also reported that Giorgi Mamardashvili has not fully convinced so far, while 18-year-old Lucca Brughmans will arrive next summer from Genk in a deal worth up to £30m and is unlikely to be viewed as an immediate first choice.

BBC Sport also reported that Virgil van Dijk is out of contract next summer. The report notes that Liverpool lost senior figures Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson at the end of last season, so decisions on experience in the squad sit high on the next sporting director’s workload.

Midfield decisions

BBC Sport reported that Iraola believes Liverpool have good numbers in midfield, even after Curtis Jones’ move to Inter Milan. The report says faith has been placed in Trey Nyoni, who was one of Liverpool’s standouts on their pre-season tour of the USA.

BBC Sport also reported last week that Liverpool had looked at Monaco’s Lamine Camara but were not open to buying a midfielder this summer. That position could become a priority in January or next summer, according to BBC Sport, especially if Alexis Mac Allister does not extend a contract that expires in 2028. As things stand, BBC Sport says there are no talks over a new deal for Mac Allister.

Attack and the Cody Gakpo question

BBC Sport says Liverpool have less concern up front after Hughes’ work. The report lists Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola among the signings made on his watch.

BBC Sport also reported that 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha is expected to sign a long-term deal. On Cody Gakpo, BBC Sport said Liverpool eventually decided not to allow him to leave for Manchester City this summer. The report added that Gakpo had one goal and three assists already this season.

The Iraola relationship matters too

Liverpool’s next sporting director will also need to work closely with Iraola. BBC Sport reported that Hughes was involved in the decision to sack Slot and appoint Iraola, and that Iraola’s relationship with Hughes from their time at Bournemouth played a part in him getting the Liverpool job.

Billy Hogan, Liverpool’s CEO, told BBC Sport this summer that the club was in ‘a very healthy place as a football club’ and that ownership leadership was ‘in a very steady place’. The next appointment will test that message because Iraola now has to build that working relationship with someone else.

BBC Sport also reported that Iraola signed a two-year deal because he did not want to be somewhere only because he had a contract. That puts extra focus on the person Liverpool choose to sit above the football operation.

Conclusion

The confirmed news is that Liverpool need a new sporting director after Richard Hughes’ move to Al-Hilal, according to BBC Sport on 7 September 2026. The Frankfurt sporting director line is not confirmed in the supplied reporting, and BBC Sport’s named discussion centres on David Woodfine, Julian Ward, Pedro Marques and Luis Campos.

Treat the Frankfurt link as rumour unless a named source reports it clearly. For now, follow Liverpool’s official channels and established outlets such as BBC Sport for confirmation of who Mike Gordon and FSG choose next.