Julian Ward had big boots to fill when replacing Michael Edwards as Liverpool’s sporting director this summer. After all, since taking on the newly-created role himself in November 2016, he had helped Jurgen Klopp put together a side that would return to the Champions League, conquer all of England, Europe and the world and win all major honours on offer to them in the space of six years.
Having previously served as a technical director, in Edwards ’ first summer transfer window following his promotion he would help sign Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson for £36.9m and £8m respectively, while banking £26m for the exiled Mamadou Sakho and £8m for starlet Kevin Stewart. The following January the club’s transfer record would be broken as Virgil van Dijk joined the club for £75m, while Philippe Coutinho departed in an astonishing club-record £142m deal.
Such business would be a sign of things to come at Anfield as Edwards ensured Liverpool were no pushovers in the transfer market, with the Reds commanding top dollar for outgoings, despite limited experience or game-time, while always looking to negotiate the best possible deal for the club, both in and out.
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In the summer of 2018, Fabinho and Alisson would join for initial £39m and £56m fees respectively, while Dominic Solanke was sold for £24m and Danny Ward left for £12.5m. Further impressive dealings in the years that followed saw Danny Ings sold for £20m, Ki-Jana Hoever fetch £13.5m and Rhian Brewster depart for £24m, while also bringing in Thiago Alcantara for an initial £20m.
As a result of such an impressive record on the transfer front, fans were understandably anxious when Edwards announced back in November 2021 that he would leave Liverpool the following summer. But the Reds had planned for such an exit, having appointed Ward as assistant sporting director the previous December to work alongside and learn from his one-day predecessor.
With Edwards leaving a legacy behind the scenes with the club’s football operations team in the form of their ‘retain and refresh' strategy, a clear plan and vision to keep the squad competitive and maintain success going forward, Liverpool were well-placed to ensure a smooth handover with Ward at the helm. And having been tasked with rejuvenating the Reds’ forward line in 2022, he’s wasted no time in making his impact felt.
First pouncing in January to sign Luis Diaz from FC Porto in a deal worth up to £49m, the club were forced to move a transfer window earlier than originally planned as Tottenham Hotspur swooped for the Colombian. But by utilising his contacts in Portugal, Liverpool got the deal done.
Now come this summer and their incoming business was already complete before the Reds even reported for pre-season training earlier this week as their attacking overhaul continued.
Fabio Carvalho signed from Fulham for a compensation package worth up to £7.7m while Darwin Nunez was signed for a potential club-record £85m as a replacement for the wantaway Sadio Mane..
With the Senegalese wanting to exit for pastures new ahead of his contract expiring in 2023, Liverpool managed to sell him to Bayern Munich for a marginal profit. Meanwhile, with Divock Origi departing on a free transfer for AC Milan at the end of his contract, Ward also helped the Reds double their money when selling fringe forward Takumi Minamino to AS Monaco for £15.5m.
Throw in the £6.5m signing of Calvin Ramsay as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new understudy, after the 18-year-old impressed in his maiden season for Aberdeen last year, and the Reds have successful refreshed their squad, with Anfield bosses content that the club have recruited exactly what they felt they wanted and needed heading into the new season.
While there might be outside concerns about Liverpool’s decision not to sign a new midfielder, Ward plans to address the Reds’ engine room in the summer of 2023 as links to Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham continue.
Meanwhile, with incoming business complete, attentions inside Anfield turned to retaining top talent and to new contracts with Ward playing a vital role in agreeing a new three-year contract with Mohamed Salah last week. That was then followed up by tying Joe Gomez down to a new five-year deal on Thursday, despite fears over his future after a lack of game-time last season.
Yet it was another deal on Thursday that should perhaps catch the eye most as Ward pulled off something of an ‘Edwards trademark’ when agreeing a deal with Nottingham Forest for Neco Williams.
A graduate of Liverpool’s academy, the Wales international was handed his debut by Jurgen Klopp in a League Cup clash with Arsenal in October 2020. Yet while he has gone on to play 33 times for the club, it always seemed like, with Alexander-Arnold ahead of him in the pecking order, his Anfield career had a premature expiry date. Once Ramsay joined, it became clear his Reds race had run.
From those 33 appearances, 20 came in the Premier League and Champions League but only half of them were starts. Meanwhile, he’d feature just once in the English top-flight last season before spending the second half of the season on loan at Fulham where he would win promotion back to the top tier.
Having had that taste of regular football, and with the 2022 World Cup to look forward to with Wales, it always felt that the time would be right for Williams and Liverpool to part ways this summer. After all, the Reds would have been willing to sanction a permanent exit for the full-back both last summer and in January if a suitable bid had been made.
Yet no such offer was forthcoming, resulting in the 21-year-old’s temporary switch to Craven Cottage. And while he won’t be linking up permanently with Marco Silva’s side, Liverpool have certainly benefited from that transfer decision.
Despite Williams’ lack of game-time and lack of a first team opening at Anfield, the Reds have still agreed on a £17m package with Forest for the Wales international. Having previously disclosed he commanded a £15m asking-price, club bosses will be more than happy with this deal Ward has negotiated.
While it might not be as breath-taking as a club-record £85m signing or a new contract for Salah, Liverpool’s new sporting director just delivered the best sign yet that it’s business as usual at Anfield following Edwards’ exit, with Williams’ imminent move for such a fee earning comparison to the previously-lauded departures of fringe players Solanke and Brewster.
Fans might still pine for a new midfielder this summer, while outgoing business and contract negotiations aren’t over for the summer just yet. But with a month to go until the start of the Premier League season, Ward has delivered in his first two transfer windows as the Reds’ sporting director.
With Liverpool working windows in advance when it comes to planning out their incomings and outgoings, the club will already have it plotted out what they aim to do in 2023 and beyond. Meanwhile, after Salah and Gomez’s new contracts, Naby Keita and Diogo Jota are reportedly next on the agenda.
Whatever comes next, 2022 has been a success for Ward, off the pitch at least, with Liverpool’s business now waiting to be judged at Klopp’s hand on the pitch. In the meantime, the club’s new sporting director will soon get to work on pressing ahead with plans to refresh that Reds midfield in 2023, the same as he has done with the attack this calendar year.
And with the club's transfer dealings evidently in good hands, expectations will remain high. Jude Bellingham, anyone?
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