Julian Ward faces tough first test as Liverpool sporting director with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah facing uncertain futures

For Julian Ward, Liverpool's soon-to-be sporting director, there will have been less challenging summers to take over the reins. With Michael Edwards set to leave his post after over a decade of sterling service at Anfield across a handful of different roles, Ward is set to handle one of the most intense yet prestigious jobs in football officially later this summer.

Ward may be a relatively new name for football fans, but he is far from a novice. He has been with the club for several years and has built up an extensive contacts book across Europe. Since December 2020, he has been the official assistant to the vaunted Edwards, getting one of the best groundings in the game working underneath the man who has helped provide Jurgen Klopp with one of the best squads ever seen at Anfield.

It was Ward's hands-on approach that helped seal the deal for Luis Diaz in January with his ability to speak Portuguese key to helping the Liverpool winger settle easier on Merseyside following a move from Porto that could reach as much as £50m.

He was also key in helping Claudio Taffarel settle at the AXA Centre after the club took the decision to employ the services of the 1994 World Cup-winning goalkeeper as a coach last year.

Ward, to those who know him, is an impressive figure. His reputation is about to soar within the game over the coming years as more and more supporters begin to become more familiar with his name, profile and ultimately, his work.

Liverpool prepare to reluctantly part with Sadio Mane this summer

Work that begins this summer with the speculation around Liverpool's two most high-profile attackers swirling intensely. It's a daunting prospect. First up, it's Sadio Mane, who, as of Sunday afternoon, has yet to communicate a desire to leave the club. The Senegalese star is attracting interest from Bayern Munich, though, and the club themselves are understood to be braced for offers.

A fee north of £40m will be demanded, however, despite Mane being into the final 12 months of his terms on Merseyside. Another year of the 23-goal frontman leading the Liverpool line might just be more valuable to them than a cut-price sum, particularly as they go in search of all the trophies available to them.

A replacement will also be required if Mane is reluctantly allowed to leave and there is no appetite inside the club to make any potential exit an acrimonious one, given all the former Southampton man has provided in the last six years.

Whatever happens, then, there is much for new sporting director Ward to muse over on that front. And then there is Mohamed Salah, whose bold prediction that he will stay with the club for another season raises the unpalatable prospect of a free transfer next summer. It's understood that the Egyptian wants to remain in the Premier League and in truth, he wants to remain on Merseyside, too.

"I cannot express in words how much we wanted to bring that trophy back to Liverpool but in the end we couldn’t." Salah posted on Twitter on Thursday afternoon. "I cannot thank the fans enough for your support. It has been a very long season but a part of me wishes the next one starts again tomorrow."

But, with no face-to-face talks between Salah's camp and Liverpool's negotiating team having been undertaken since December, the prospect of their top scorer inside the final year is a major concern. January will bring about the possibility of a pre-contract agreement outside of England.

There is also the gut-wrenching prospect of Manchester City or Chelsea casting glances towards Salah in a year's time too. Liverpool should be desperate to avoid that.

At least it will provide the Reds with a few more months to find a resolution given Salah wants to stay and owners Fenway Sports Group insist they want him too. But for Ward, these are two major issues he would have preferred to have tackled further down the line, surely?

The hard work starts soon.