SPECIAL REPORT: A closer look at the re-appointment of Julian Ward as Liverpool's new sporting director with insight from head coach Andoni Iraola
Andoni Iraola (left) and Julian Ward (right) are now working even closer together at Liverpool after the latter's return as sporting director
Andoni Iraola (left) and Julian Ward (right) are now working even closer together at Liverpool after the latter's return as sporting director
View 2 Images
If there was a sense of urgency about Julian Ward as he skipped through London Euston station at around midday on Saturday lunchtime, it was perhaps because Liverpool's new sporting director has little time to waste.
Ward is ready to embrace the sporting director position once more at Liverpool having returned to Fenway Sports Group as its technical director after officially leaving the role in the summer of 2023.
Back then, Jurgen Klopp's powerbase within the club had grown organically to such an extent that any sporting director was effectively working underneath the manager at the AXA Training Centre.
Klopp didn't necessarily want to take on such an exhaustive list of responsibilities at the time and it was clear that the growing to-do list played a vital role in stepping away at the end of the 23/24 campaign.
READ MORE: Rio Ngumoha addresses Liverpool contract talks and makes 'unpredictable' vow - 'It's with my agent now'
READ MORE: 'Really blessed' - Virgil van Dijk makes feelings clear after Liverpool milestone and gives Florian Wirtz verdict
But given his standing within the club's fanbase and his enormous star power as arguably one of the most charismatic coaches in the history of the game, the German only really ever had to answer directly to FSG, specifically the group's president, Mike Gordon, with whom he enjoyed a famous relationship.
In 2026, however, things are different and Ward is back in situ, working alongside a head coach in Andoni Iraola who is slowly starting to rebuild Liverpool's character after a chastening 2025-26 campaign when they offered a pitiful defence of their Premier League title and lost 20 times across all competitions.
Make sure you never miss the latest Liverpool FC news and opinion by makingLiverpool Echo one of your Google preferred sources.
Having only signed a two-year deal, though, Iraola will have to quickly to strike up a rapport with Ward if the team are to move past what has undoubtedly been a chastening 12 months or so.
Ward and Iraola's relationship may be burgeoning in their respective positions right now but they have known each other for a number of years, going back to Iraola's playing days as a versatile defender for Athletic Club.
Ward was the Reds' scouting manager for Portugal and Spain in 2013 when he recommended Iraola as a potential option to Brendan Rodgerss, who was assessing the need to strengthen the squad during the January transfer window of that year.
Iraola eventually opted to stay with his boyhood club but wrote Liverpool a letter thanking them for their interest, somewhat wisely, to keep the lines of communication open between himself and the key decision-makers at Anfield.
Iraola revealed on the club's pre-season tour of the United States that he might one day detail the contents of the letter should he prove to be a success as head coach and his dealings with Ward go much further back than when the sporting director was officially reappointed during the recent international break.
"I knew Julian previously a little bit because he was head of loans before and I remember asking him when I was in the Spanish second division, asking him for a couple of players on loan that we couldn't get in the end," Iraola reveals.
One of those players was understood to have been Sepp van den Berg, who has since made a Premier League career at Brentford having moved for around £23m in the summer of 2024.
"And I think Julian is someone who has been working at the club for a lot of years, so he understands the club and its different departments. He will help us a lot every day, not just during the market period where everyone is looking for the signings."
A key part of Ward's job will be deciding on what happens next regarding a slew of players who are out of contract next summer.
Virgil van Dijk, as club captain, is the most obvious one in the category but Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo are all in the same boat and there will have to be a decision either way once Ronald Araujo's loan spell from Barcelona comes to an end.
Ward was instrumental in getting Mohamed Salah to pen fresh terms in 2022 after months of talks with the player's agent, Ramy Abbas. Salah eventually put pen to paper on the Greek island of Mykonos after a delegation from the club flew out to formally conclude the deal. That negotiation augurs well where long-serving stalwarts like Van Dijk and Alisson are concerned.
The Aintree-born Ward also worked over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day later that year to make sure Liverpool beat Manchester United to a £40m deal for Cody Gakpo. The sporting director's relationship with Alexis Mac Allisters camp was also crucial in the Argentina international's 2023 move to Anfield from Brighton, as was Luis Diaz's 2022 switch from Porto.
One of the first things Ward and the football operations department have reportedly agreed on is the need for Liverpool to open up some more strategic partnerships with various clubs across European football.
It was confirmed earlier this year that FSG had shelved plans to add more clubs to their roster having initially planned to begin a multi-club model of ownership in 2024 after Klopp opted to step down.
Ward alongside Michael Edwards - who left his position as FSG's CEO of football in the summer - worked extensively on looking at a handful of clubs who fit the remit, including Bordeaux and Monaco in France and Malaga and Getafe in Spain.
FSG put the plans on ice and was said to have been a contributing factor in Edwards's decision to walk away two years into a three-term deal he signed in 2024.
The controversial model has detractors, but the new approach is seen as offering Liverpool similar benefits without the issues associated with official club affiliations, such as competing in European competitions.
Chelsea, for example, have the same BlueCo owners as Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, leading to the clubs regularly dealing with each other in recent years, including when Liam Rosenior was 'promoted' to manager at Stamford Bridge midway through the campaign last time out.
Auditors rigorously assess dealings between the clubs to determine 'fair market value,' but UEFA can ban transfers between the clubs if both qualify for the same European competition.
Liverpool's hope is that by establishing strong ties with a variety of clubs without FSG ownership, they can reap the benefits and sidestep the problems that sometimes arise from the multi-club model.
In 2026, the Reds approach to recruitment at youth level has been aggressive and proactive. The establishment of the global talent department, headed up the long-serving Matt Newberry, has led to a handful of youngsters joining the club.
In January, Liverpool swooped to conclude deals for Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, having watched both shine at the U-17 World Cup in Qatar in November 2025.
Ndukwe started for Austria as they were beaten by Portugal in the final while Ndiaye, who joined from Thies-based Aimite for around £1m, reached the last 32 with Senegal.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 17: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Talla Ndiaye of Liverpool celebrates scoring a stoppage time winner during the PL2 game at AXA Training Centre on October 17, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Mor Talla Ndiaye celebrates scoring a stoppage-time winner for Liverpool against their Reading under-21s counterparts on Saturday (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Ndiaye is settled in the club's Under-21s' ranks, scoring the winner against Reading in Premier League 2 on Saturday, while Ndukwe is now eligible for a UK work permit having gained the required points while on loan at Levante. The plan for now is to keep the giant centre-back in La Liga.
Samuel Martinez will join from Atletico Nacional when the Colombia youth international turns 18 in April 2017 while a £30m deal was hatched to make Genk's Lucca Brughmans the most expensive teenage goalkeeper in football history toward the end of the summer transfer window.
Young French striker, Djylian N’Guessan, signed for £4.3m last month from Saint-Etienne and he will join the club either in January or next summer after being loaned to Brest. Liverpool had also been in the hunt for Georgia youth international Andria Bartishvili but lost out to Arsenal.
The Reds believe the pathways created for players like Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha at first-team level can act as incentives for some of the planet's finest young talents who often have a slew of the world's biggest clubs lining up to secure their signatures.
Iraola adds: "Just being here every day and knowing how this place, this building (AXA Training Centre) works, I think this help [from Ward] will be very valuable.
"I think we haven't been working here [together] a lot but we know each other quite well. Obviously Pedro Marques (FSG's director of football development), David Woodfine (assistant sporting director), and other people working for the club, we talk to them basically every day. There is a clear understanding of what we are trying to do."