Who is Markus Pilawa? Liverpool close in on former Bayern Munich transfer guru

With Liverpool’s director of scouting and recruitment Dave Fallows leaving the club after 12 years of excellent work, the Reds are in the market for a replacement. It has been reported by Anfield Watch that Markus Pilawa is the man they have identified for the role.

But who is he? Chances are that the 47-year-old German is not known to most Liverpool supporters. Assuming he gets the gig, Pilawa will come with a very good pedigree from his homeland, having worked with its two biggest clubs though.

Before reaching such heights, he began his career as a scout at VfL Bochum in 2004. In what would be considered an unusual move in England, Pilawa was also assistant manager of the club’s reserve team during his eight years there. Upon leaving, the man who looks set to occupy a very key role at Liverpool began working alongside Jürgen Klopp.

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From 2012 until 2016 – so past Klopp’s departure – Pilawa was a scout for Borussia Dortmund. He then rose to the role of chief scout, a position he held from January 2017 until the summer of 2022.

It is obviously impossible to be certain which players he recommended the club purchase during his half-decade as its top scout. Nonetheless, during that period Dortmund bought Manuel Akanji, Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. Even if the talent of those players was clear to anyone, its still impressive business in which to play a part.

Pilawa then went on to Bayern Munich for a two-year stint which ended last month. It has been claimed he moved there because Dortmund hired Laurent Busser from Bayern to be his assistant but he ended up replacing him.

Working in Munich would have obviously been a different challenge, with the German giant more accustomed to purchasing finished article players rather than those who are on their way up in the game.

By starting there in September 2022, the club had already purchased the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Sadio Mane earlier in the summer. The following year, Bayern most notably signed Harry Kane, while Michael Olise and Joao Palhinha followed him from London to Munich in 2024. Pilawa will clearly have seen plenty of Premier League football ahead of likely taking up a new post in England.

With two decades of professional scouting experience behind him at three different tiers of clubs, the German will have seen it all. It appears Liverpool is hoping to make the most of Pilawa’s huge bank of player knowledge as it continues shaping the squad to the needs of Arne Slot.