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Liverpool's rise to the top of the Premier League has been built on outstanding recruitment.

There have been no expensive duds in recent years with the owners getting plenty of bang for their buck with the likes of Mohamed Salah,Sadio Mane,Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

However, the transformation in the calibre of Jurgen Klopp's playing squad hasn't just been the result of splashing the cash.

If Liverpool have bought wisely, they have sold even better. That explains why the Reds' net spend during Klopp's reign is only around the £100million mark.

Michael Edwards is responsible for negotiating deals and he knows how to drive a hard bargain. The club's sporting director has struck again by commanding an eye-watering initial fee of £19m for Bournemouth-bound Dominic Solanke.

That's a remarkable sum of money for a young striker who scored once in 27 appearances for the club.

It's around three times what Liverpool agreed to pay Chelsea for the 21-year-old's services following his move to Anfield 18 months ago.

Put into perspective, it's also £6.5m more than the Reds paid for a truly special talent in Xherdan Shaqiri.

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Edwards never gives interviews and shuns the spotlight. But his reputation of being a shrewd operator has grown and grown during his time at Liverpool.

No wonder the 39-year-old commands the respect of Klopp and FSG president Mike Gordon, the other two key figures in the club's recruitment team.

Rewind to last summer and Edwards banked another two bumper fees for fringe players as Danny Ward went to Leicester City for £12.5m and Danny Ings was sold to Southampton in a £20m deal.

When Liverpool agreed with a heavy heart to sell Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £142m a year ago, it was Edwards who got the Catalan giants to agree that they would have to pay a £100m surcharge if they try to buy another Reds player before 2020.

(Image: Liverpoolfc.com)

In the summer of 2017, after being repeatedly foiled in his attempts to convince RB Leipzig to sell Naby Keita, Edwards out-gunned rival suitors by thrashing out a complex agreement which saw the Guinea midfielder stay put in the Bundesliga for one more season before moving to Anfield.

That was also the transfer window when Liverpool stood firm and ended up getting £26m from the sale of Mamadou Sakho to Crystal Palace. Kevin Stewart, who hadn't cost the Reds a penny, was packed off to Hull City for £5.5m rising to £8m.

Edwards was brought to Liverpool by Damien Comolli in 2011 as head of performance and analysis after spells working at Portsmouth and Tottenham.

He was subsequently promoted to director of technical performance and then technical director before being made sporting director in November 2016.

He had also been involved in deals the previous summer when Christian Benteke (Palace) went for £27m rising to £32m, Brad Smith (Bournemouth) was off-loaded for £3m rising to £6m and Joe Allen (Stoke) was sold for £11m rising to £13m.

Edwards' qualities convinced FSG to take the responsibility for negotiating transfers and contracts away from the chief executive role with Ian Ayre leaving the club shortly after.

At times there was tension between Edwards and former boss Brendan Rodgers, but Klopp, who worked with a sporting director at Borussia Dortmund, has always embraced his input.

(Image: Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

No player is bought or sold without Klopp's full approval and the manager accepts that the owners have to be convinced that any potential deal makes financial sense.

Over the past 12 months Edwards has also convinced the likes of Salah, Roberto Firmino, Mane and Joe Gomez to pen new long-term contracts.

As well as the here and now, he has one eye on the future with Liverpool boasting the third youngest starting XI in the top-flight this season. In Edwards' case, actions speak louder than words.