Sporting director who was sacked for signing Jordan Henderson gets new job at European giants ...Middle East

talksport - Sport
Sporting director who was sacked for signing Jordan Henderson gets new job at European giants

Former Liverpool and Tottenham sporting director Damien Comolli is set to be announced in the same role at Juventus.

The French executive has already made his Toulouse goodbye official, and now Sky Italia report that Juve will confirm his signing in the coming days.

    Comolli has said goodbye to Toulouse and it seems Juve will be his next stopGetty

    The name comes as a blast from the past for Premier League fans as Comolli worked in England with three different teams.

    The Frenchman first operated as a scout at Arsenal and then as director of football at rivals Spurs from 2005 to 2008.

    He then returned to the UK in 2010 under new Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) where his work as sporting director wasn’t exactly appreciated during his two years.

    Comolli had to deal with Fernando Torres’ shock late departure to Chelsea during the 2011 January transfer window and responded with the stellar signing of Luis Suarez but also the far less impressive deal for Andy Carroll.

    The towering striker arrived for a then-club record £35million from Newcastle and hugely struggled to find the back of the net before departing after just a season-and-a-half.

    Yet surprisingly it was one of Liverpool’s modern legends that got Comolli sacked.

    Speaking to talkSPORT in 2016, the 53-year-old revealed that a £12m move for Jordan Henderson from Sunderland was what cost him his job.

    “The day I got sacked they [FSG] told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money,” he said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price.

    “He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.

    “I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain.

    Comolli took his first executive role in England at SpursGetty His time at Liverpool was hit and miss

    “I was totally convinced, as was Kenny [Dalglish], that we were doing the right thing for the club.”

    Henderson would go on to become Liverpool’s most successful ever captain in terms of trophy count, lifting eight titles with the Reds.

    Comolli went on to explain why they were so keen on the midfielder.

    “He fitted the profile we were looking for,” he said. “We knew he was an outstanding person, we knew he had leadership skills. 

    “We knew he was totally dedicated to football, to his passion, and we knew he was someone who wanted to improve on a day to day basis. We knew his physical abilities – his fitness stats were absolutely unbelievable.

    “We were looking at statistics and we were going through a lot of midfield players in the Premier League and what amazed me and caught my eye was his ability to create quality chances.

    “For a player who was so young, playing not in a top side, with all due respect to Sunderland, he was producing and creating more quality chances, or at least as much, as top quality players in the Premier League.”

    Despite his UK days being in the past, Comolli looks set to continue to be relevant to English football fans.

    Sky Italia also claim that Fulham’s Marco Silva is ‘highly appreciated’ by the soon-to-be Juve decision-maker.

    They add that Comolli’s predecessor, Cristiano Giuntoli, had previously made contact with Silva before thinking he could get his hands on Antonio Conte.

    But with Conte now committing to Napoli, the Silva case will likely be revisited.

    Read More Details
    Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Sporting director who was sacked for signing Jordan Henderson gets new job at European giants )

    Also on site :

    Most viewed in Sport


    Latest News