Liverpool’s sporting director Julian Ward is reportedly being considered for a position at Dutch powerhouse Ajax after leaving Anfield at the conclusion of the current season. Ward had sent shockwaves across the Liverpool hierarchy after he announced in late November last year that he would resigning from his role, which he had taken up just at the start of the season, at the end of the 22/23 season.
Following the departure of Michael Edwards, Ward was appointed to the role of sporting director at Liverpool assuming the role at the start of the current season. Given that Ward had held a number of positions at the club since his arrival in 2011, and that he had played one of his first football roles with renowned performance monitoring company ProZone, he was thought to be Edwards’ suitable replacement.
Ajax will have to tackle Ward’s Liverpool clause before hiring him
Julian Ward was apparently the driving force behind Liverpool’s record purchase Darwin Nunez last summer. According to the Liverpool Echo, Ward utilised his connections in Portugal to help broker the deal that brought Darwin Nunez from Benfica to Anfield in a whopping €100m deal. Ward was also instrumental in collaborating with Ajax’s bitter rivals PSV in order to get Cody Gakpo to Liverpool before the January transfer market officially opened.
However, his unexpected decision to quit Anfield at the end of the current season, after only one season as manager has been claimed to have ‘shocked’ several club officials. Ward reportedly has decided to take a break once the season ends and he steps down from his role at Liverpool. But Ajax are apparently interested in bringing Ward to the Johan Cruyff Arena despite the notion that he wants a sabbatical after leaving Anfield.
He is now being seriously considered by the Dutch champions to replace Marc Overmars, who resigned from his position last year after it was discovered that he had sent inappropriate texts to female coworkers. According to the Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Ward is on the shortlist of potential candidates for the position of technical director at Ajax. Ward is also bilingual and would apparently need no introduction to Dutch football given his work with PSV to negotiate Gakpo’s transfer.
However, Ajax might need to work out a deal with Liverpool to hire Ward because of a clause in his Reds’ contract that prevents him from accepting a position at another club for a year after leaving Anfield, according to the Liverpool Echo. Ajax’s quest for a new manager has finally come to an end after they sacked Alfred Schreuder; at least temporarily. Johnny Heitinga, the former Everton defender, has been named interim manager till the end of the current season.
After 20 games, Ajax sit third in the Dutch Eredivisie, three points behind league-leaders Feyenoord. Meanwhile, Liverpool are debating whether to retain the sporting director approach at the club that was first used in 2016 under Edwards. At the end of the season, Jurgen Klopp, who enjoys the sporting director structure and knew both Edwards and Ward well, will play a key part in determining how football operations should be managed. The ultimate choice will also be discussed with CEO Billy Hogan.