Forgotten former Portsmouth striker set to take ex-Fratton Park contingent at Liverpool to three

The ex-Pompey contingent at Liverpool looks set for another new addition.

Just a day after former Blues midfielder Richard Hughes’ switch to Anfield as the club’s new sporting director was confirmed, it’s been reported that the Scot has lined up his first appointment.

The Liverpool Echo have said Hughes will return to former club Bournemouth to add one-time Pompey striker Mark Burchill to his Reds' recruitment team. Burchill is currently chief scout at the Cherries and has been credited with bringing the likes of Nathan Ake, David Brooks and Philip Billing to the Vitality Stadium. He’s worked closely with technical director Hughes at Bournemouth in recent years - and in that time he’s forged a reputation that warrants following his ex-Blues team-mate to Anfield, where he’ll work under current Liverpool chief scout Barry Hunter and head of recruitment Dave Fallows.

Both Hughes and Burchill played together at Fratton Park and were part of Harry Redknapp’s 2002-03 Championship-winning squad. The former will take up his role at Liverpool on June 1, following the conclusion of Bournemouth’s Premier League season and Jurgen Klopp's exit. Their appointments, with Burchill’s yet to be confirmed, follow former Pompey analyst Michael Edwards’ return to the Reds as owners Fenway Sports Group’s Head of Football.

Burchill was signed by Graham Rix in the summer of 2001 for a reported £600,000 following 24 goals and 63 appearances for Celtic. He initially scored four goals in six appearances for Pompey, but saw his season ended in September of that year because of a knee injury.

The following season saw the six-times capped Scotland international feature 20 times for Harry Redknapp prior to Christmas. Yet, Burchill soon fell down the pecking order under 'Arry and ended up spending the second half of the 2002-03 campaign on loan at Dundee.

Burchill spent a further season-and-a-half on Pompey’s books, but the centre-forward never played for the club again, instead spending his time out on loan at Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham, before moving back to Scotland in January 2005 on a free transfer.

The former Livingston manager retired from playing in 2017.