Brandishing chief Julian Ward has finished his Liverpool brief with the impending marking of Cody Gakpo, composes Paul Gorst. His authority stretch in the workplace of donning chief might be brief, however Julian Ward’s Liverpool heritage could be huge when he in the end leaves the following summer.
Given Michael Edwards’ near-mythical status among Liverpool’s fans and his appointment as the club’s first sporting director in November 2016, replacing him was always going to be challenging. A significant number of the players who are answerable for probably the most paramount evenings in living memory at Anfield were brought to the club on Edwards’ diligent.
Scientifically determined watch, so the errand of following on from a person of such status inside football was no question an overwhelming possibility, in any event, for somebody like Ward, whose tutelage and groundwork for the job was finished with a view as long as possible. During Edwards’ long goodbye, Ward had actually been playing the role in all but title and had spent the better part of 18 months getting ready for it.
that the former Tottenham and Portsmouth analyst would be leaving occurred in November 2021, which was well in excess of six months prior to his actual departure. Edwards has taken a more peripheral role in the recruitment department since the turn of 2022, while Ward has assumed a greater role.
In a way, the new management team is like the legendary Boot Room culture at Anfield, but with a modern twist centered on how a football operations structure should look in 2022 at an elite club. He was able to better understand the requirements of one of the most demanding positions in football while working as Edwards’ assistant.
The actual announcement :
After excelling as loan and pathways manager, Ward was said to have been a key player in the club’s ability to acquire Xherdan Shaqiri for approximately £11 million from Lyon. Additionally, Ward was a key contact for Claudio Taffarel when the legendary Brazil goalkeeper became a Liverpool coach in 2021 due to his command of Portuguese, which he had developed while playing for the Portugal national team under Carlos Quiroz.
The impressive Ward was gradually introduced to the larger projects at the AXA Centre and is credited with the majority of the work that brought Luis Diaz from Porto to Merseyside at the beginning of the year. With just a few days remaining in the transfer window, Liverpool acted swiftly to ward off Tottenham’s interest and sign the winger, which was viewed as a significant victory for Ward in the corridors of power.
The 40-year-old also made it easier for Darwin Nunez to land in June after talks with Rui Costa at Benfica led to an initial contract worth £64 million for the Uruguayan. Again, he received praise from within the club for how quickly he replaced Sadio Mane, who was headed to Bayern Munich.
The former Manchester City scout’s achievement of securing Mohamed Salah’s commitment to a new, long-term Liverpool contract this summer may be his greatest accomplishment. At the end of June, a team led by Ward took a plane to the Greek island of Mykonos to get Salah to sign the biggest contract ever given out at Anfield.
It put an end to months of speculation about the future of a player who is already regarded as one of Merseyside’s greatest players.