Julian Ward's previous Liverpool plan including rebuild demand and Bellingham snub

Julian Ward is due to return to Liverpool as their sporting director having made some major calls during his first spell - which included opting out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham.

Richard Hughes’ exit, a year prior to his contract expiring, has seen the Reds explore their options, and they've turned to a man who worked for the club in that role, before leaving at the end of the 2022/23 season.

At the start of that campaign they were among the sides eyeing up Bellingham, who was ready to move on from Borussia Dortmund. A number of factors had them in the mix - their association with Dortmund via Jurgen Klopp, the fact Bellingham was English and their desire to bolster their midfield.

Bellingham had continued to thrive after moving to Germany from Birmingham City and was always going to command a notable fee. Klopp acknowledged that Bellingham was a key target, but they ultimately saw him move to Real Madrid.

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Los Blancos would sign the then 19-year-old for an initial £88.5million, with add-ons potentially seeing the deal reach £115m. It was Ward who pulled the plug on that deal, reports the Athletic.

The then sporting director wasn't convinced that Bellingham even wanted to move to Merseyside, which would've left Liverpool with a marquee player who, if he had his way, would be playing elsewhere. Ward also felt Liverpool were best served spending that kind of money across several players.

Despite that they were also linked with Moises Caicedo, who had a deal agreed with Liverpool, but moved to Chelsea for a then British-record fee.

It was a decision that Klopp would ultimately back, stating that had they gone hard at one player, that would've left nothing to continue their midfield overhaul.

He said: “If one of the £100million (signings) had worked, there’s no chance to do another. That’s what I meant when I said we are so lucky. Everything in the ‘if not scenario’ worked out.”

The German also underlined their need to work within their means given the huge fees being spent around that time: "We are not children; when you ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they say a Ferrari, you wouldn't say 'oh, that's a good idea'.

"You would say 'no, that is too expensive and anyway, you cannot drive it'. If this kid is then unhappy their whole life because he cannot get a Ferrari, it would be a really sad life. You look what you can do, and you work with that."

Alongside Ward, Klopp was able to see a number of midfielders arrive, which owed in part to the decision not to go after Bellingham. That season saw the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and James Milner coming to the end at Liverpool - and the summer of 2023 saw mass changes.

Ward stayed on for a period and helped secure the signing of Alexis Mac Allister, who remains part of the Liverpool midfield. Shortly after they also landed Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch, which forms the bulk of their options in the middle of the pitch.

There is talk that Liverpool need someone who is naturally a midfield anchor, which would give the team a greater balance and combat against them being hit on the counter attack, which has been a problem.