Liverpool news: Jonathan Woodgate joins Anfield club as a scout after Middlesbrough release

The 36-year-old, who can speak Spanish, is expected to be deployed in Spain and Portugal

Jonathan Woodgate left Middlesbrough at the end of last season (Getty)

Liverpool have appointed Jonathan Woodgate as a scout after the former Leeds United and Real Madrid defender was released by Middlesbrough this summer.

The 36-year-old, who can speak Spanish, is expected to be deployed in Spain and Portugal by Jurgen Klopp after splitting his time between England and the continent while acting as an ambassador for Boro last season.

Following a career hit by injuries, Woodgate’s eye for talent has been commended by Aitor Karanka in the past and is likely to be central to Liverpool’s transfer strategy in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Klopp has said the upcoming Premier League season will not be one of rotation as he looks to restore the Reds back into the Champions League places in his first full campaign at Anfield.

The German said: “When we lost the Europa League final, there was absolutely nothing worthwhile about it, just a load of disappointment.

In the end the only positive thing about not playing European football this year is that we have more time to train and that is what we have to use, 100 per cent.

“That’s why we need to create a very strong team in the best understanding of the word ‘team’. We need to have competition.

“We need a situation where the players push themselves and each one pushes the other for each position and wants to be in the team because you have time to recover.

“So it’s not that you have to change the team a lot between two Saturday games or two Sunday games - it’s nothing about rotation. It’s about: ‘OK, who is ready now? Who is ready to perform how we need in each specific game?’”