Julian Ward returns to Liverpool as sporting director, two years after leaving the role

Julian Ward, again. Liverpool is once more looking within its own ranks to fill the most delicate role in the organization: sporting director. Just days after the departure of Richard Hughes, who lasted only two years in the job and now runs football operations at Saudi club Al Hilal, the club announced the return of Ward, a man who already knew the position inside and out.

The search for Hughes' successor was led by Mike Gordon, president of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), and it didn't take long to find an answer: Ward was already working for FSG as technical director. In fact, he's no stranger to Liverpool fans. He held this same sporting director position throughout the entire 2022-23 season, so this is really a second stint.

A journey that began more than a decade ago

Ward joined Liverpool in 2012 from Manchester City, tasked with overseeing the club's scouting network in Spain and Portugal. Over the years he climbed the ranks within the football operations department until he became the right-hand man to Michael Edwards, the figure who defined an era at Anfield between 2011 and 2022. When Edwards stepped aside, Ward replaced him as sporting director, though that first spell lasted just one season: he left for personal reasons in the summer of 2023. A year later he came back, once again alongside Edwards, this time as technical director, while FSG explored adding a second club to its portfolio. That plan was shelved earlier this year, which led to Edwards' departure in June and, later, to Hughes' exit after the close of the last transfer window.

Born in Merseyside and trained in sports science at Liverpool John Moores University, Ward got his first big break working under Carlos Queiroz with the Portugal national team, before moving to Manchester City as a recruitment strategist for South America, a spell that coincided with the club's first Premier League title in 2012. He speaks fluent Portuguese, and his contacts in Portugal and South America are considered a major asset for what lies ahead.

Signings that already left their mark

His previous stint, brief as it was, didn't go unnoticed. Ward played a key role in the signing of Luis Diaz from Porto in January 2022, moving ahead of Tottenham's interest in the Colombian winger. He was also involved in the negotiations that led Mohamed Salah to sign a lucrative contract extension that same summer, and he oversaw the signings of Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez, three names who ended up being decisive in the Premier League title won under Arne Slot. Not everything worked out as well: Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho had far less impact, though the latter did end up delivering a solid sale to Brentford for 22.5 million pounds in August 2025.

What's waiting for him

The situation Ward inherits isn't as complicated as the one Hughes faced when he arrived in 2024, but it's not simple either. Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker are both out of contract next summer, and that's a massive decision to make on two players who have been pillars of the team and who are still performing at a high level. Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo will see their deals expire in 2027, and Mac Allister's future is also up in the air after the midfielder himself admitted this month that the club still hasn't offered him an extension beyond 2028.

On top of that there's the pure transfer market work: despite having invested close to 750 million euros over the past two years, Liverpool's squad remains a project under construction. Right back continues to be an awkward position, and if Conor Bradley doesn't come back strong from his knee injury, the club could be forced into the market. Up front they're well covered, but the lack of a specialized right winger is another item on the to-do list.

Why this needs to work

After so much turnover, what Liverpool needs most right now is stability. The whole point of having a strong sporting director model is that it cushions the blows when there are changes on the bench. But since 2022 the club has already gone through four different sporting directors, a pattern that's starting to give off the sense of an institution in constant reconstruction behind the scenes.

After Ward's first spell, Jorg Schmadtke passed through briefly before Hughes took over in the spring of 2024. The fact that Hughes left after just two years of a three-year contract makes clear why the club now needs someone willing to commit for the long haul. Having a stable figure in that role would also help build a solid relationship with the new manager, Iraola, at a time when the 1892 Holdings consortium, led by Amit Bhatia and including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is finalizing its 38% stake in the club. FSG remains in charge of football decisions, but it remains to be seen how much influence that consortium gains over time. Ward's knowledge of the club, from top to bottom, is exactly what's expected to keep this whole process from being felt too much out on the pitch.