Liverpool makes key hire after Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas transfer calls
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
Liverpool has appointed a key new member to its backroom staff following a busy summer of transfer business.
The window closed on Monday, with the Reds once again breaking the Premier League transfer record with the $169 million signing of Alexander Isak, while a deal to bring Marc Guehi in from Crystal Palace collapsed during the final hours of deadline day.
That brought the number of new additions to the club this summer to nine - including Giorgi Mamardashvili, for whom a deal was agreed last year - but the club has also kept itself busy with a number of high-profile departures.
Read More.
The likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold all made permanent exits, while Harvey Elliott left on loan to Aston Villa late on deadline day.
The deal sees Villa committing to paying $47 million to make the move permanent next year, while Liverpool has also negotiated buy-back and sell-on clauses as part of the agreement.
Elliott’s progress at Villa will be watched closely by the Reds’ new Head of Loan Management, with Gary Probert having been snapped up from Ipswich Town for the role.
Probert takes over from Matt Newberry, who had held the position since April 2023 before becoming the club’s new Director of Global Talent in November 2024.
Gary Probert (right) has been appointed as Liverpool's new Head of Loan Management
A source close to the club told Training Ground Guru that Probert’s “blend of operational experience and player development expertise made him the stand-out candidate” for a role that has been placed under great importance for Liverpool’s long-term strategy.
Elliott was among 10 players to leave on loan during the summer, along with Kostas Tsimikas, who joined Roma during the final days of the window.
James Balagizi, Owen Beck, Harvey Davies, Vitezslav Jaros, Lewis Koumas, Isaac Mabaya, James McConnell and Luca Stephenson have also made temporary moves away, with Probert now tasked with overseeing their development away from Anfield.
Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kits
Probert was previously director of football at Ipswich, having also previously worked as Bristol City’s academy director and Forest Green Rovers’ youth development manager.
He takes up a role that was previously held by Julian Ward, who has of course gone on to become FSG’s technical director, having also previously been Liverpool’s sporting director.
“I think if we get the loan right, a player gets credibility among the coaching fraternity and in football in general,” Ward said back in 2018.
“And when they come back to Liverpool, they’ll be more equipped with the demands of being a Liverpool player.”