Max Eberl's best signings include wonderkids and bargains as Liverpool reach 'agreement' with sporting director

Liverpool and Bayern Munich have both reached an agreement with former RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl, it has been claimed.

Eberl is currently observing a period of gardening leave, after being sacked as Leipzig’s sporting director in September amid strong rumours of a move to Bundesliga rivals Bayern.

And according to French publication Sport Zone, while an agreement with Bayern is in place, should it fail to materialise he could join Premier League giants Liverpool, whom he has also agreed to join.

Jorg Schmadtke currently occupies the sporting director role on Merseyside, having been hired on a short-term basis in the wake of Julian Ward’s departure.

Eberl, who has also worked at Borussia Monchengladbach, has a strong track record in the transfer market. Here are some of his best signings.

Yann Sommer

Back in 2014, while at Gladbach, Eberl signed Switzerland international Yann Sommer from FC Basel for around €9million (£7.8million).

The shot-stopper went on to make a total of 335 appearances for the club and become one of the most respected goalkeepers in the Bundesliga.

He subsequently secured a move to Bayern before replacing Andre Onana between the sticks at Inter.

Nico Elvedi

While not the most glamorous name on the list, Nico Elvedi was snapped up from FC Zurich in 2015 and has been almost ever-present since.

Elvedi isn’t the only defender that Eberl has helped discover, with Brazilian centre-back Dante having signed for Gladbach from Standard Liege in 2008 before joining the likes of Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, a loan spell at Borussia Park helped launch Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen’s career.

Marco Reus

In 2009, Eberl managed to convince the Gladbach hierarchy to fork out around €800k (£695k) for a 19-year-old Marco Reus, who was playing for Bundesliga.2 side Rot Weiss Ahlen after being released by Borussia Dortmund.

After three eye-catching seasons, Reus was sold to his old club, where he established himself as one of Europe’s most gifted midfielders.

Granit Xhaka

Eberl spotted the former Arsenal star as a teenage midfielder at Basel in 2010.

Indeed, Granit Xhaka went on to captain Gladbach before leaving for a fee of £35million to join Arsenal after six seasons.

Eberl also signed Denis Zakaria from Young Boys, with the Swiss midfielder becoming a standout player for Gladbach before moving to Juventus in 2022.

Marcus Thuram

Eberl helped bring Marcus Thurman to Gladbach from French side Guingamp in 2019 and provided him the platform that would see him break into the France side.

The forward, now thriving at Inter, moved to Germany in the same summer Thorgan Hazard left for Borussia Dortmund, having scored and assisted 44 goals in 180 games.

The Belgian is another that Eberl helped unearth during his time at Gladbach.

Xavi Simons

In his most recent stint with RB Leipzig, Eberl’s most recent batch of signings are all performing well.

Indeed, Xavi Simons was signed on loan from PSG this summer and has provided four goals and seven assists in all competitions.

He is joined by two other new forwards in Lois Openda, who has scored eight goals in nine Bundesliga games, and Benjamin Sesko who has six goals across all competitions.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.