Julian Ward has been handed a clear warning following his return to Liverpool as the club faces a number of important contract decisions in the coming months
Julian Ward has some challenges to overcome following his appointment as Liverpool sporting director(Image: (Photo by Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
Newly appointed Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward has been warned by club legend John Aldridge that he cannot afford to repeat the mistake of letting contracts run down.
The Reds confirmed the appointment over the weekend as Ward steps into the role following the departure of Richard Hughes. His predecessor initially joined the club in 2024, the same year Arne Slot was appointed, and oversaw the Premier League title win in 2025.
However, during Hughes' tenure as sporting director, the club also lost a handful of key players as free agents. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate departed for Real Madrid for nothing, or next to nothing in Alexander-Arnold's case.
Liverpool also came painfully close to losing both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in the summer of 2025. Both were extended for a further two years, much to the club's relief, although Salah didn't see out the final year of his deal and left at the end of last season.
While the futures of Alisson and Van Dijk, who are both out of contract at the end of the current campaign, are slightly more complicated due to their ages, the same cannot be said for Alexis Mac Allister and Rio Ngumoha.
While Aldridge has praised the re-appointment of Ward, he insists the contracts need to be resolved in good time.
Liverpool has a huge decision to make over Alexis Mac Allister's contract(Image: (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
"Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker are out of contract at the end of the season, Alexis Mac Allister wants a new deal, Rio Ngumoha needs to be tied down too," the former striker wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo. "It’s going to be a busy time for Julian.
"But I’m sure it’s all in hand. The only thing I want is to not do what we’ve done in the past and let contracts run down to the last year.
"I’m old school, I’m a dinosaur. If you let them run out to the last year, the player and the agents are in the driving seat. You risk them going for nothing and getting huge amounts of money.
"And if the club’s not in their heart, then they will. If it’s not in their blood, they will. It means nothing to them to go to Saudi or whatever on a free."
Fortunately for Liverpool, two key players, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, have committed their futures to the club.
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The former penned fresh terms 12 months ago, while the latter finally agreed a new deal in July in a huge boost for the club.
Now, focus must shift to other players in the squad and, at the very least, decisions need to be made over potential sales in order to avoid losing out on a fee.
Mac Allister confirmed earlier this month that Liverpool informed him it is not currently in a position to offer him a new deal, but it remains to be seen whether his strong start to the new season changes its thinking as his current contract expires in the summer of 2028.