Liverpool advised to appoint former Man Utd boss as new sporting director in a potentially stunning move

With Julian Ward leaving his role as Liverpool’s sporting director at the end of the season, the Reds are being advised to replace him with a former Manchester United man.

The role has been crucial to Liverpool’s success in recent years, with Ward and Michael Edwards aiding Jurgen Klopp in bringing multiple trophies to Merseyside.

With the latter set to depart Anfield, the Reds have been advised to go and get former Manchester United manager, Ralf Rangnick.

The German coach flopped at United last season, with them finishing in a disappointing sixth place. But, it is thought that he is much better suited to a sporting director role and could work well with his fellow countryman Klopp.

Indeed, according to the Liverpool Echo, Klopp has great admiration for Rangnick after successfully managing the Red Bull project for many years, which Reds’ owners FSG are a fan of – so he could be a great fit.

They note that because the Reds have signed a lot of players from Red Bull’s teams in the past, such as Sadio Mane, Ibrahima Konate, Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino, so Rangnick could potentially help rebuild that link and add some other quality players to their squad.

The question is though, would Rangnick be willing to leave his job as Austria manager, to join a former rival?

Would Rangnick leave Austria job for Liverpool?

Rangnick has been the manager of the Austrian national team since last year, after parting ways with United following a disappointing year with the club.

He has a relatively good record with the Burschen, picking up wins against the likes of Croatia and Italy, as well as a draw against France after nine games at the helm.

While Rangnick is thought to be happy in his current role, the lure of Liverpool and a return to the Premier League may be too tempting to ignore. Their current sporting director Ward has a legacy that will be difficult to live up to, though.

The Englishman has spent over a decade working for the Reds in a variety of roles but received a lot of credit for helping to secure deals for the likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and most recently, Cody Gakpo.

He also played a key role in building the squad that won the Premier League in 2019-20 and the Champions League in 2019, so Rangnick would have a lot to live up to.

Ward is expected to take a short break from football but has already been linked with a switch to Dutch giants Ajax, so there is no shortage of interest in him.

If Rangnick did make the switch to Anfield, it would be a very interesting appointment.

While he didn’t succeed in the Premier League as a manager, this would provide the German with a great opportunity to rebuild his reputation. United fans, however, might not be very pleased.

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