As a club with a history of appointing from within, it was no surprise to see Julian Ward succeed Michael Edwards to become just Liverpool's second sporting director last summer.
Having risen through the ranks at Anfield to the position of loan and pathways manager, Ward saw a job created for him in late December 2020 as he became Edwards's official 'assistant'.
It was the beginning of a soft launch towards the eventual role of sporting director itself and one that was officially handed to him at the end of last season after he had essentially been studying for it across the previous 18 months under the tutelage of Edwards, who himself had developed a mythical reputation both among fans and those within the game for how he conducted business during 2016-2022.
