Liverpool are set to appoint Julian Ward as their new sporting director, replacing Richard Hughes.
Ward currently serves as Fenway Sports Group’s technical director and previously held the sporting director role during the 2022-23 season.
The move is designed to offer continuity at a turbulent time for the club’s hierarchy.
Hughes left for Al-Hilal earlier this month, and Michael Edwards stepped down as FSG’s chief executive officer of football in July, while the ownership group also agreed to sell a 38 percent stake in Liverpool to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia.
Whoever takes charge of Liverpool’s football operations will inherit a pressing issue away from the transfer market.
Five first-team players are set to be out of contract next summer, and difficult decisions await on who gets a new deal and on what terms.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, goalkeeper Alisson, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo are all approaching the final months of their current contracts.
Van Dijk played down any suggestion of talks when asked about his future after Sunday’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
“Already? No, I am just focusing on the present. There is nothing to report on that,” Van Dijk told reporters.
Van Dijk will turn 36 before the 2027-28 season begins, and Alisson turns 34 in just over a week. Both are among Liverpool’s highest-paid players and will need to keep performing at their current level to justify new terms.
According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, there is no room for sentiment in the decision, but the form both have shown since the start of this campaign suggests they still have plenty to offer.
Gomez presents a different challenge. At 29, he is younger than his two teammates, but persistent fitness problems have limited his involvement, with only 28 starts for the club since the summer of 2024.
Leadership adds another layer to the calculation facing Ward.
Van Dijk remains club captain, while Alisson and Gomez are two of Liverpool’s three vice-captains, alongside Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool have already lost Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate as free agents this year. Losing further experience from the leadership group would compound that outflow.
Tsimikas and Endo face a tougher road to fresh terms. Barring a significant change in form and fitness, neither appears likely to earn an extension at Anfield.
All five will be out of contract at the end of this season, and Liverpool will have to make a decision on their futures, especially captain Van Dijk, if he continues to perform at the level everyone has become accustomed to since he arrived at Anfield.
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