General view of a corner flag ahead of the Liverpool FC v LOSC Lille UEFA Champions League match at Anfield, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom on 21 January 2025 / Liverpool owner John Henry ahead of Liverpool's pre-season friendly with Hertha Berlin in 2017-18
General view of a corner flag ahead of the Liverpool FC v LOSC Lille UEFA Champions League match at Anfield, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom on 21 January 2025 / Liverpool owner John Henry ahead of Liverpool's pre-season friendly with Hertha Berlin in 2017-18
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who was not expecting an internal appointment to be made.
Ward has become the Reds’ sporting director for the second time, having previously held the role back in 2022-23, and most recently served as the technical director of FSG.
However, Wyness is in no doubt that the appointment raises a “big red flag” behind the scenes at Anfield, and he made it clear that he expected the new investors to have had a bigger say in the role.
A consortium backed by Jeff Bezos recently bought into the Merseyside outfit, and have the option to take full control of the club within the next 12 months.
However, they have been unexpectedly restrained in their involvement so far, and have allowed FSG to bring in their own man once again.
Julian Ward immediately met by ‘big issues’
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Ward will immediately be hit by “big issues” in the January window after taking over the mantle from Richard Hughes.
His predecessor had begun to transform an ageing squad during the summer window, and the expectation is that the overhaul will continue in the upcoming windows.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained that he is “50-50” as to whether Ward will be a success.
“The jury is very much out from my point of view on this. It seems to be too comfortable an appointment because he worked there before with Mike Gordon, and I expected the new investors to have a much bigger say on something like this,” he said.
“I thought they would start to be showing their fingerprints on the club and that would have been a perfect chance for them to do that.
“I guess we're going to see the big issues that Liverpool know they've got this January. He's got no time to really take any comfortable options. He's got to act pretty quickly on some big things, and he's got to do it in January.
“To me, it's a 50-50 whether he's the right one or not, or whether it's just carrying along as a caretaker situation with Gordon until the new owners take more control.
“It’s not great for Liverpool having that sort of situation right now. They need to be planning for the future right now. But yeah, I'd say it’s a big red flag on that one.”
Ward to revisit old transfer target immediately
Football Insider revealed last week that Ward is likely to revisit a move for Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni in January.
The 45-year-old was a big fan of the French midfielder during his previous stint as sporting director, and Tchouameni has remained firmly on Liverpool’s radar.
However, sources say that it will be difficult for them to do a deal for him in the near future, as he is tied down under contract at Real Madrid until 2031.
Nevertheless, the midfield is a key area of priority for Andoni Iraola’s side in the winter window, and that could be the area where Ward’s first signing comes.