David Ornstein has dropped a concerning update on the future of Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards.

What's the talk?

According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards is set to step down from his role at the club at the end of the season.

He is out of contract next summer and has told the board that he will not be signing an extension, having been in the sporting director role since 2016 and at Anfield since 2011. His assistant, Julian Ward, is well-regarded, but it remains to be seen if he will take over from Edwards.

Fans will be fuming

Liverpool fans will surely be fuming about this concerning update from Ornstein. The man in charge of their transfer successes in recent seasons is now due to leave and that could leave supporters wondering what the future holds for the club in that department.

With no replacement lined up, unless Ward is the man to take the job, it will be interesting to see what route Liverpool go down. Edwards has been an influential figure behind the scenes at Anfield and Jurgen Klopp has benefited greatly from his work in the transfer market over the last few years.

The likes of Mo Salah, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Sadio Mane are among the many successful signings Edwards has made for the Reds - with those players forming the spine of the team that won the Premier League and Champions League for Klopp.

These players mentioned highlight the level of quality Edwards has been able to bring to the club, but the fees he has brought in for players leaving Anfield is an equally impressive achievement. Reported fees of £142m for Philippe Coutinho, £20m for Danny Ings, £26m for Mamadou Sakho, £19m for Dominic Solanke and £15m for Jordan Ibe stand out as some of his finest pieces of work on Merseyside.

This shows that he has had a huge impact in terms of bringing excellent players to the club as well as being able to balance the books by selling players for big fees - allowing FSG to operate within their means instead of needing to finance signings to bolster the squad.

Fans will now be concerned about what is next for Liverpool and how they replace Edwards next summer, as his track record suggests that whoever takes over from him will need to produce high-quality work to replace him adequately.