The reign of Julian Ward as sporting director is destined to be remembered for its brevity, his imminent departure announced barely six months since assuming the role.
The same, though, cannot be said about his time working behind the scenes at Liverpool.
By the time Ward leaves the Reds in the summer, he will have been there for 11 years. That is a long time at any football club, let alone one competing at the very top of European football and all the pressure that entails.
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And that there was barely a second thought at turning to Ward to replace Michael Edwards in such a key role highlights the stature the 41-year-old has built throughout his time at Liverpool.
Aintree-born Ward - who took a Masters degree at the University of Ulster and played non-league football for Morecambe, Southport and Hyde United, along with clubs in Northern Ireland - worked for Preston North End, the Portuguese Football Association and spent two years as Manchester City's South American scout before moving to Liverpool in 2012.
He began at Liverpool as scouting manager for Spain and Portugal. But it was when, in October 2015, he took on a new role as the Reds' loan pathways and football partnerships manager that he began to forge a reputation with the club and the wider game.
Ward was tasked with finding loan moves for up-and-coming players that could help their development towards the first team at Liverpool, with Nat Phillips and Harvey Elliott benefiting from spells at Stuttgart and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
Even those who didn't break into the senior set-up, such as Taiwo Awoniyi, or saw opportunities limited like Rhian Brewster, Ryan Kent, Harry Wilson and Marco Grujic, were given sufficient exposure elsewhere to attract sizeable fees when being moved on.
Ward also took an increased role in recruitment for the Academy, with his extra responsibilities recognised with his appointment as assistant sporting director to Edwards in December 2020. The following summer he helped Liverpool receive £11million from Lyon for Xherdan Shaqiri. And once it was confirmed in November 2021 he would replace Edwards at the end of the season, Ward began to take on more than just a shadowing position.
He took the lead in negotiations for Luis Diaz in January, helping convince the Porto man to move to Liverpool rather than Tottenham Hotspur. And Ward's contacts in Portugal contributed to the Reds seeing off the threat of Manchester United to complete the potential club record £85m capture of Darwin Nunez from Benfica during the summer.
Ward was also influential in agreeing a number of recent new contracts, not least the three-year extension of Mohamed Salah's Liverpool stay.
Now, though, Ward has decided not to extend his own Anfield career beyond the end of the season. It is an unexpected ending to what appeared to be a fruitful time at Liverpool.
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