3 incredible Michael Edwards transfers Liverpool fans will never forget

It's official — the Michael Edwards era at Liverpool is over. Edwards stunned fans on Friday by stepping down from his role as CEO of soccer at Fenway Sports Group, despite having a year left on his contract. He could soon be followed by Richard Hughes, Liverpool's sporting director, who's expected to leave his role following this summer's transfer window and join Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal. The Reds are not expected to hire a successor for Edwards, with Mike Gordon, FSG's president, set to take on the extra work. Edwards will undoubtedly be remembered fondly by fans for helping lead Liverpool back to the top of English soccer. He initially joined the Reds from Tottenham in 2011, then worked his way up the ranks to become sporting director in 2016. Edwards stepped down from his role in 2022 before returning two years later to take on the top job on Merseyside. He's played a key role in Liverpool's recent success under former bosses Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot, winning two Premier League titles and the 2019 Champions League, among other honors. Edwards did this by brokering several stunning transfers, both in and out of Anfield. Here, Liverpool.com recalls three memorable transfers orchestrated by Edwards during his time at Anfield. Mohamed Salah There's only one place to start. Edwards took a risk during the summer of 2017 by signing Mohamed Salah from Roma in a deal worth up to £43 million ($57 million). That may not seem like a huge transfer fee in today's market, but it was at the time. Salah joined Liverpool shortly before Neymar's £200 million ($268 million) switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain inflated soccer's transfer market forevermore. It was a bold move by Edwards to splash out on Salah, who famously flopped during a brief spell at Chelsea earlier in his career. Was he good enough to play in the Premier League? The answer was an emphatic yes. He went on to win everything during a nine-year spell at Merseyside, scoring a staggering 257 goals. Salah was recently named as Liverpool's fourth greatest ever player, above the likes of John Barnes, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen. Andy Robertson Andy Robertson experienced one of the worst moments of his career in May 2017 when he suffered relegation from the Premier League with Hull. At that point, very few expected him to move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe, but Edwards saw his potential. The Reds managed to sign Robertson for just £8 million ($10.5 million). He proved to be one of the biggest bargains in Liverpool's history, going on to spend nine years on Merseyside and eventually becoming the club's vice captain. What makes this transfer even sweeter is that Kevin Stewart left Liverpool for Hull for around £7.5 million ($10 million), effectively making it a swap deal. Stewart did OK at Hull, playing 78 times, but was nowhere near the caliber of player that Robertson is. Edwards managed to get a world-class left-back just entering his prime for relatively little. Philippe Coutinho Edwards raised millions of dollars through player sales during his time as Liverpool's sporting director, generating significant transfer fees for the likes of Rhian Brewster, Jordon Ibe, Danny Ward, Christian Benteke, Harry Wilson and many others. Yet it's the sale of Philippe Coutinho that everyone remembers. At the time, Coutinho was arguably Liverpool's best player; a supremely talented Brazilian who could win games on his own. Barcelona wanted him, and Liverpool knew it. After seeing the Spanish club bank a fortune for Neymar, Edwards refused to sell fan favorite Coutinho for anything less than an eye-watering transfer fee. Barcelona ended up agreeing to a £142 million ($190 million) deal for the midfielder in January 2018. Coutinho went on to have a decent career after Liverpool — winning plenty of trophies with the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich — but he was never worth close to $200 million, nor was he good enough to replace Neymar at the Camp Nou. That sale boosted Liverpool's transfer budget, allowing Edwards to sign Virgil van Dijk and Allison — two of the club's greatest ever players — in successive transfer windows. The Coutinho sale cemented Edwards' status as one of the best transfer operators in soccer.