The jobs of two key members of Liverpool’s transfer committee are the most vulnerable ahead of the imminent end-of-season review in which the club’s American owners will seek explanations for a disappointing campaign.

With Brendan Rodgers’ position thought to be under no immediate threat and no preliminary soundings having been made to alternative managerial candidates, the fiercest scrutiny is thought to be falling on the club’s head of recruitment Dave Fallows and Michael Edwards, the director of performance analysis. Their statistically driven approach to recruitment has been a key factor in a transfer market strategy which saw the club spend £110m last summer on players who have not materially improved the squad.

Rodgers has always been supportive of the idea of a transfer committee, which Liverpool opted for after the Northern Irishman made it clear he would not operate under a director of football. Liverpool were making representations to Louis van Gaal to fill that role when recruiting a replacement for Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012.

Liverpool potential striker targets Show all 7 1 /7 Liverpool potential striker targets Liverpool potential striker targets Christian Benteke (Aston Villa, 24) Appears to be Liverpool's primary target but after a brilliant end of season (11 in nine games) his value will have gone through the roof. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon, 23) The French striker has had an absolute brilliant season for the title chasers, scoring 29 goals in just 33 games. However, he is now being linked with Champions League clubs across Europe. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Theo Walcott (Arsenal, 26) This potential transfer seems to hinge on what happens with Raheem Sterling. But Walcott could be seen as a man to fill in up top and then move to the wing when Sturridge returns, although he too has a poor track record with injury. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Paul-Georges Ntep (Rennes, 22) Able to play on the wing or up front, the exciting Cameroonian has bags of pace and an eye for goal. Not really prolific but could be a decent stop-gap who would still be in the first-team when Sturridge came back. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Stevan Jovetic (Manchester City, 25) Clearly has great quality but has struggled with form and injury in his time at the Etihad, with just 11 Premier League starts in two seasons. Would be interesting to see him given a real chance. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Graziano Pelle (Southampton, 29) Liverpool may be think twice about doing business with Southampton after getting burned for Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, but the Italian has shown he is a great target man with an eye for goal. Getty Images Liverpool potential striker targets Jay Rodriguez (Southampton, 25) Has now missed more than a year of action after last season's horror injury at Manchester City, Rodriguez was probably going to the World Cup before going down. Would be a huge gamble but if he is able to return to form it'd be worth the risk. Getty Images

Fallows was recruited from Manchester City, where his role entailed assigning scouts to targets, preparing recommendations based on their work and building a database of scouted players. Edwards was hired at Liverpool as ‘head of analytics’ by Damien Comolli, the director of football who was released in April 2012 and had worked alongside the Frenchman in a role as head of performance at Tottenham

The two men running the player acquisition department and chief scout Barry Hunter - whose own track record at Manchester City included a role in the purchase of David Silva, Sergio Aguero – do not take sole responsibility for the disastrous summer of spending. Other members of the six-man transfer committee – Rodgers, chief executive Ian Ayre and Mike Gordon, the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) president who will undertake the review of the season, have ultimate sanction. But taking a statistical approach in the transfer market has not secured the thriving, cheap assets FSG had anticipated.

The relaxation of Financial Fair Play rules which is anticipated last month removes one of the foundations on which FSG’s purchase was built – a knowledge that the owners Chelsea and Manchester City could not outspend them with their personal fortunes, while Liverpool’s untapped global revenue generation potential could give them a competitive advantage over those same clubs.

FSG are thought to feel the same point of principal applies to the retention of Raheem Sterling at Liverpool as when Luis Suarez was agitating to leave two summers ago. It is understood that the owners are prepared to make Sterling a marginal part of the next campaign, on his current £35,000-a-week salary if necessary. But while Suarez’s desperate desire to play football ensured that he knuckled down to his last season, the owners could not be as certainty about any such ethic being seen in 20-year-old Sterling.