Liverpool bring back Julian Ward as sporting director after Hughes exit
Fenway Sports Group have moved to appoint Julian Ward as Liverpool's sporting director for a second spell, replacing Richard Hughes, who has left for Al-Hilal.
Liverpool have reappointed Julian Ward as sporting director, restoring him to a post he held for one season in 2022-23, after Richard Hughes departed the club to join Al-Hilal.
The switch was confirmed by Guardian Football's Andy Hunter, who reported that Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, acted quickly to fill the vacancy at the top of the club's football operation.
Ward has spent the two years since leaving his previous sporting director role working as FSG's technical director, giving him an ongoing link to the ownership group even while away from the day-to-day running of Liverpool's football department.
That period inside FSG's own structure means Ward returns to Anfield with recent knowledge of the group's broader thinking, having overseen technical matters on their behalf rather than being brought in from outside the organisation.
His first stint as sporting director lasted a single season before he moved on, and his second arrives at a moment Hunter's report describes as one of upheaval within Liverpool's hierarchy, with Hughes's exit to Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal opening the position Ward now fills.
The reporting does not set out further detail on the circumstances of Hughes's departure or on the process that led FSG back to Ward specifically, beyond the confirmation that he has been chosen to succeed him.
Liverpool have therefore gone back to a known figure rather than bringing in an external appointment, opting for continuity through someone who has already worked closely with the ownership group over the past two years.
What the appointment means in practice for recruitment strategy, contract renewals or the club's transfer plans has not been detailed in the reporting, and Liverpool have not set out publicly how Ward's remit will differ, if at all, from his first spell in the role.
Attention now turns to how quickly Ward settles into the post and what, if anything, changes in Liverpool's football operations under his renewed leadership, with further developments expected to follow as the appointment beds in.