Liverpool have already decided who will replace Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes | OneFootball

Liverpool will already have their replacement lined-up for Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes.

It's been a bit of a catastrophe internally for FSG and Liverpool. The plans for the post Jurgen Klopp era seemed to have got off to the perfect start.

Liverpool became champions just one season after Klopp departed and everything seemed rosy. But now, just a year on from that triumph the leading face of this succession plan have all departed or look set to depart.

Arne Slot was dismissed from his duties as head-coach, Michael Edwards has resigned from his role at FSG after the club's owners failed to deliver the multi-club he craved and Richard Hughes looks set to join Al Hilal at the end of the summer transfer window.

This doesn't appear great for Liverpool on the surface. Ultimately, Slot failed as coach, Edwards couldn't start the project he wanted and Hughes' transfer window turned into a mess last summer spending lavishly without a lot of tangible results.

Of course that summer window could yet prove to be a successful one. The likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak could still prove to be extremely successful players.

But there is no denying the club right now appears to be in a mess. The strategy and direction is lacking.

After all, Liverpool are not forward thinking anymore. None of the club's plans are being made in advance. Liverpool allowed Mo Salah and Andy Robertson to leave the club without a proper replacement.

Jeremy Jacquet may have been billed as the Ibrahima Konate replacement but it's still difficult to believe that could be a genuine solution when Liverpool were already short in the centre-back department and probably need more experience.

Previously, Liverpool would never have let this players go without replacing them. There would have been a plan in place for succession and the Reds would have sorted it all out in advance.

Now, there's not so much a forward thinking model at the club.

That's not a surprise given Slot had just one year left on his contract as does Hughes and as did Edwards. So, they are not here for the long-term project. They don't need Liverpool to be successful in three to five years - they will already be somewhere else.

Even with Hughes, who is overseeing the club's current transfer activity, naturally there will be professionalism and he will do the best possible job.

But with a move to Al Hilal already reportedly lined-up ultimately how successful this summer will be for Liverpool won't have a huge impact on his future.

Recruitment teams operate on pressure. You need someone in charge who has skin in the game, who will be impacted by how a transfer window goes.

That is why Liverpool's replacement for Edwards and Hughes is already very clear. Liverpool will have already made an internal decision about it, and the video welcoming Andoni Iraola will have been very telling about the direction the Reds are heading towards.

In that video, it wasn't Edwards or Hughes showing Iraola around but David Woodfine, who is currently the Executive Assistant to the Sporting Director.

Woodfine has been at Liverpool since 2014. He joined the club as a scout from West Ham United and has worked his way up the career ladder becoming Head of Scouting in 2017 and being appointed in his current role in 2024.

Woodfine is 46-years-old and started his career as a Match Analyst at Portsmouth as a 25-year-old. He is closely affiliated with Edwards but he is also highly respected at Liverpool.

It's clear, he is the perfect successor to come into the role and he's ready to be promoted.

With the responsibility falling to him to show Iraola around, it's obvious Liverpool are moving towards that direction as well.