Liverpool
Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward linked with new role ahead of Anfield exit
![Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward in new role ahead of Anfield departure](https://sportcastinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/images-2023-02-08T051644.704.jpeg)
Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward in new role ahead of Anfield departure
Outgoing Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward is being courted by Ajax, who are keen to appoint a new technical director – weeks after head coach Alfred Schreuder was sacked
Dutch giants Ajax are reportedly keen to appoint Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward as their new technical director once he leaves Anfield this summer.
It was reported in November that Ward, who had previously been assistant to former Reds transfer guru Michael Edwards before replacing him last summer, was due to step down at the end of the campaign, having spent just one season in the role.
Ward is believed to be looking to take a break from football after working in various capacities at Liverpool for over a decade. However, that stance hasn’t stopped Ajax from targeting the highly rated executive as they seek a permanent successor to Marc Overmars, who left the club last February after admitting sending inappropriate messages to d other players.
According to De Telegraaf, Ward is one of the candidates currently being considered for the position of technical director. However, it remains to be seen whether the Eredivisie champions can persuade the multilingual Reds boss to take on an overseas role once he leaves Merseyside. Despite Ward set to step down as sporting director in the coming months, he was credited with a key role in the deal which saw Luis Diaz arrive at Anfield in January 2021. The deals for Fabio Carvalho, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all took place under Ward’s watch and he was highly rated by the Liverpool hierarchy.
It was claimed at the time that Ward’s decision to quit his role left club figures “shocked” and “disappointed”. Various high-profile names have been floated as potential replacements, but the Reds are yet to confirm their intention to replace him.
After giving up the services of Alfred Schreuder two weeks ago, Ajax are on the hunt for a new technical director as part of a rebuild after a disappointing 2022/23 season. The reigning Dutch champions have struggled since losing Erik ten Hag to Manchester United and opted to sack his successor Schreuder after just six months at the helm following a string of pathetic performances.
Former Everton defender and Jong Ajax manager Jonny Heitinga has since been appointed to the role and is expected to continue until the end of the current season. Ajax have been revived since Heitinga took over and are currently three points behind leaders Feyenoord after comfortably beating Excelsior and Cambuur.
Manchester United managing director and former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has explained the decision to temporarily hand over the reins to Heitinga. The Dutchman said: “We are convinced that this is the right solution. John has embarked on a careful and gradual path, which has allowed him to grow very well as a coach over the years.”
Also…
10 Liverpool players that will gone this summer if Jurgen Klopp’s rebuilding turns brutal
With Liverpool languishing in mid-table of the Premier League, the Reds will need major surgery this summer, whatever the outcome of their troubled season.
The need for Liverpool to rebuild is, of course, clear, but to do so they will need to move a number of players.
As results and performances have gained momentum in recent weeks, Jurgen Klopp is increasingly willing to discuss the idea that major changes are needed in his squad, even though many would have liked to see it.
Klopp still has three years left on his contract after this season and despite his recent problems there is no doubt that he will overcome them as things stand.
Many players will not be arriving though and we could very well see a string of Liverpool hardliners arrive towards the end of the season.
Here are 10 players headed for the exit.
Caoimhin Kelleher
The goalkeeper could leave to provide money
Of course, one of the first things to consider when selling players is how much money you’re getting for them, and Irish goalkeeper Kelleher is one of the few lucrative sellable assets with the Reds at the moment.
The 24-year-old completed his apprenticeship at Liverpool and has developed into a fine stopper, and in an ideal world the Reds wouldn’t want to lose him.
But neither will the club stand in the way of his pursuit of first-team football and the chance to become a team’s number 1, something he no doubt deserves following his cup exploit at Anfield.
Hadrian
The Spaniard is in his fourth season with the Reds
The goalkeeping department will likely need a shake-up in the summer as veteran Adrian is likely to retire after four seasons with the Reds.
Now No. 3 choice following the emergence of Kelleher, the ex-West Ham man’s performances at the start of the title-winning 2019-20 season, when he replaced the injured Alisson, are not to be forgotten, and he managed 18 of his He made 26 appearances for the Reds for the club in that campaign.
Joel Matip
Matip is one of many Reds players who have struggled in recent weeks
Former stalwart Matip, now 31 and entering his seventh season with the Reds, looks like another player plagued by the club’s woes.
The centre-back endured a nightmare on his return to Wolves and suggestions are mounting that he could leave the club this summer with his current contract just one year away.
He would leave the club as a player much loved by Liverpool fans and one of the best free transfers of all time.
Nat Phillips
Phillips seemed destined for the exit door again
On transfer deadline day last week, Nat Phillips reportedly waited again with his bags packed, only to be told he would not be allowed to leave Liverpool.
It has become a recurring theme for the centre-back, who saw an injury to Ibrahima Konate ruin his exit chances after attracting interest from Benfica and Galatasaray earlier in the window. Several Premier League clubs have also been eyeing Phillips, who turns 26 next month and certainly deserves the chance to build his own career as a starter.
Fabinho
Sometimes you just have to be ruthless when a rebuild is needed and Fabinho’s form this season suggests the Brazilian could be beyond backup.
He was a superb player for Klopp’s side and deserves to be included in the discussion when it comes to Liverpool’s best XI of all time due to his role in Champions League and Premier League wins. but for some reason it just didn’t work. for him this season.
It’s not entirely his fault of course, with endless form changes and turnover making life more difficult for him than most other teammates due to his position on the pitch, but having lost his place in favor of teenager Stefan Bajcetic, one already wonders where his next one is from the start could come.
Klopp recently admitted that Fabinho is unhappy with the situation and a fresh start may be needed. Naby Keita
It speaks volumes to the paradoxical nature of Naby Keita’s career at Liverpool that the most concrete news of his possible departure came when he returned to the squad.
Reports from Germany, where he played for RB Leipzig, indicate Keita is now likely to leave the Reds on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season, with a return to the Bundesliga likely the most likely. .
He would leave as a divisive player, and then some.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Another whose contract expires in the summer, Oxlade-Chamberlain looks set to be Liverpool’s exit door and will need to find a new club.
Perhaps unfairly labeled an injury-prone player, fans will always wonder what might have happened to the Englishman had he not suffered the devastating knee injury in the 2018 Champions League semi-final against Roma. He was in the team at the time and played well, and although he played a key part in winning the title in 2019/20, things haven’t been the same since.
James Milner
The third of Liverpool’s midfielders whose contracts expire at the end of the season – the main factor the Reds need fresh faces in the position, whoever they are – Milner could end up staying, but nothing is known about the Liverpool player whose contract expires at the end of the season, the mood music is even stronger if Firmino stays, even if certainly not definitively.
Roberto Firmino
Another Liverpool player who will be out of contract at the end of the season, the mood music is even louder if Firmino stays, although that is by no means final.
You could say the injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota this season would make Klopp more determined than ever to keep Firmino, but he himself has been sidelined since before the World Cup break.
A short-term deal could see him stay, but it looks like he’s gone.
Arthur Melo
What do you mean, you forgot it existed?
Arthur was added as an emergency midfielder before the summer window closed but so far hasn’t proven himself to be the answer to anything other than a matter of pub quiz. He’s still injured and hasn’t been called up to the Champions League squad for the Round of 16 so you can assume he won’t be able to get a permanent deal.
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