Liverpool's new owners will be present for Kenny Dalglish's Anfield homecoming on Sunday and have continued to restructure the club by sacking the majority of its European scouting network. They are also closing in on the appointment of a new chief executive, with Celtic's Peter Lawwell a frontrunner for the post.
John W Henry, Liverpool's principal owner, is expected to attend the Merseyside derby against Everton when Dalglish will take charge of his first home game since replacing Roy Hodgson last Saturday. The chairman, Tom Werner, may attend the game too. It will be the Scot's first appearance as a Liverpool manager at Anfield since a goalless FA Cup fifth-round tie against Everton in February 1991.
Henry has not visited Anfield since the 2-0 victory over Chelsea in November. He has subsequently had to bring forward plans to replace Hodgson, complete with another expensive pay-off to a Liverpool manager, amid poor results, falling attendances and open revolt against the 63-year-old by the club's supporters, before installing Dalglish until the end of this campaign.
The appointment of the Liverpool legend has been universally welcomed among the Anfield faithful but presents Fenway Sports Group (the subsidiary of New England Sports Ventures that manages the club) with a potential dilemma this summer. Dalglish made it clear at his official unveiling on Monday that he would be "delighted" to accept the Liverpool manager's job on a permanent basis unless the club identified "someone better" to take over and FSG is understood to be keen on a young coach to take the club forward. Damien Comolli, who will oversee the search for Hodgson's full-time replacement in his capacity as director of football strategy, also admitted the 59-year-old would be considered for the position.
A new chief executive, the managerial situation, possible transfers – such as Southampton's £10m-rated Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – and Liverpool's need for a new stadium will all be on Henry's agenda on his next visit to Merseyside. As the interest in Oxlade-Chamberlain demonstrates, the club's new owners want to invest in top-quality young talent and move away from the scatter-gun approach that arguably characterized Liverpool's recruitment policy before the overhaul of the youth academy under Frank McParland in 2009.
The arrival of Comolli in November was destined to have repercussions for the existing European scouting team. He quickly brought on board Steve Hitchen, who was Tottenham Hotspur's principal overseas scout and is based in France, and the former chief scout Eduardo Macia left the club shortly after Christmas. Macia has now been followed by all but one of Liverpool's European scouts as Comolli restructures that department.
Spencer Stuart, the global executive recruitment company, is believed to be close to ending its three-month search for a replacement for Liverpool's former managing director, Christian Purslow, who left the club within days of FSG's takeover in October. Lawwell was a leading candidate to become the Arsenal chief executive when Spencer Stuart conducted that process in 2008, before the job eventually went to Ivan Gazidis, and has been recommended to FSG.
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