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Liverpool are set to appoint Michael Edwards as the club’s sporting director.

The 37-year-old will be promoted to the newly-created role from his current position as technical director.

The decision by owners Fenway Sports Group has the full backing of manager Jurgen Klopp, who worked within the same structure at Borussia Dortmund.

Klopp has enjoyed a close working relationship with Edwards over the past 13 months and believes he’s the perfect man for the job.

Edwards, who has been at Liverpool since November 2011, will be put in charge of all football operations and will be responsible for player recruitment for both the first team and the Academy.

With chief executive Ian Ayre leaving Anfield at the end of the season, the ECHO understands that Edwards will take on full responsibility for transfer and contract negotiations with immediate effect. Klopp will continue to have the final say on all signings.

Fenway Sports Group have long since favoured the continental model of having a sporting director or a director of football working with a manager.

Damien Comolli filled that role from November 2010 until the Frenchman was sacked in April 2012. The American owners had intended to replace Comolli in the summer of 2012 but they were talked out of it by new boss Brendan Rodgers, who wanted sole control.

As a result the transfer committee was born which included FSG president Mike Gordon, Ayre, Rodgers, director of scouting Dave Fallows, chief scout Barry Hunter and Edwards.

That was often a source of friction during Rodgers’ reign with the Northern Irishman bemoaning not being able to get the targets he wanted. However, there have been no murmurings of discontent since Klopp took over.

Klopp insisted he had “100% backing” from FSG last summer and he believes Edwards has both the knowledge and the expertise to help him ensure Liverpool build on their flying start to the season.

Edwards has never had a public profile at Liverpool but he’s enjoyed a meteoric rise under FSG since he was brought to Anfield by Comolli in 2011.

Initially, he was head of analytics – poring over the mass of data Premier League clubs gather on players in every match and providing reports.

Once Comolli left in 2012, Edwards took on greater responsibility. In June 2013 he was promoted to the role of director of technical performance and was then made technical director in August 2015.

Edwards graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in business management and informatics before putting his IT knowledge to use in the world of football.

He was Portsmouth’s head of performance analysis from 2003 to 2009 before being headhunted by Tottenham.