A period of upheaval is set to take hold on the red half of Merseyside as Premier League giants Liverpool is on the cusp of massive changes after owners Fenway Sports Group have put the club up for sale.
Goal’s Neil Jones reported earlier today that Liverpool was shocked by the unexpected impending departure of club sporting director Julian Ward who is now due to step down in the summer in what will be just one year in his current role after replacing Michael Edwards as part of the club’s senior leadership structure.
Big news at Liverpool. Sporting director Julian Ward is stepping down at the end of the season.
He only replaced Michael Edwards in the role in the summer, and was chiefly responsible for the signings of Luis Diaz & Darwin Nunez + Mohamed Salah’s contract renewal.#LFC
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) November 24, 2022
Ward played a critical role in securing Darwin Núñez from SL Benfica in the summer as well as locking down star forward Mohamed Salan to fresh terms at Anfield, and his departure could not have come at a worse time as Liverpool have no guaranteed direction while the club’s ownership future remains up in the air at the time of writing.
The Reds have since been made to contend with a second departure after The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that club director of research Ian Graham handed in his resignation and is set to also depart the club in the summer. Graham had a strong working relationship with Ward, and the departure of both prominent figures now throws the club into chaos during a season where performance levels on the pitch under beloved boss Jürgen Klopp remain under the microscope.
Both departures come in the wake of club CEO Billy Hogan assuming greater day-to-day responsibility at running Liverpool which comes in stark contrast to the previous arrangement that saw Mike Gordon, Klopp, and the club sporting director operate in tandem to direct the club on and off the pitch, but with Hogan’s arrival, the landscape could be set for a massive shift that could come alongside a change of direction of the club when new ownership is secured.
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