:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33632157/489515643.0.jpg)
Prior to the announcement that Brendan Rodgers had extended his contract with Liverpool until 2018, there had been some rumours that the manager had demanded full control of transfers as part of his deal. While there's still no confirmation on whether or not that's a clause included in his contract, it's in keeping with his previous refusal to work with a Director of Football role, and is a position he reiterated again should anyone still be unclear as to who makes the ultimate decisions.
"The principle idea when I first came in was that like any manager you will have the first call on a player and the last call," Rodgers said in an interview with the Liverpool Echo. "That's the call on whether he's good enough to continue to look at and try to organise a deal and the last call to say yes or no.
"We will never bring in a player here who the manager doesn't want in. That's a great credit to the owners and the other people at the club. We work very closely together – it's worth stressing that. It's key that we are very much one club."
Rodgers is less absolute on the possibility of hosting players on loan in the coming season. A thin squad and a failure to recruit the players they went after left for gaps that needed temporary plugging last season, but Rodgers is hoping next year will be different.
"I would hope we don’t have to go for loans this summer," confessed Rodgers. "But it's always about the availability of players. If you are not satisfied with the squad and you feel you can improve it then you have to look at every option.
"We turn the page and it’s another chapter in terms of where we are going. Hopefully that will mean it will be more permanent players than loan players but I can never rule it out completely. There could be a situation where a player becomes available, we can get him and he can add to what we’re doing."
Say, like maybe Xherdan Shaqiri on a loan-to-buy deal? Yes, even if that's not a thing that is likely to happen. In any case, no matter whether it's with loans or outright purchases, Rodgers and his committee sound like they're gearing up for a much more successful window than the last two have been.
