Liverpool were seemingly rocked by the news that Julian Ward has decided to leave the club this summer and so it appears that the hunt for a replacement is firmly underway.
As reported by Andy Jones for The Athletic, one such possible alternative could be that of Christoph Freund who is currently working as the Sporting Director for Austrian club RB Salzburg:
‘The 45-year-old, like Edwards, does not seek the limelight and is happy to work behind the scenes. He was appointed sporting director in 2015 after previously working in other roles at the club and he is known for managing key relationships within the club and with agents.
‘Liverpool would need to convince Freund that theirs is the perfect project for him. He has strong ties to Red Bull Salzburg and prising him away would be tough, as Chelsea found out’.
The Austrian was touted as a possible sporting director for Chelsea, as their new owner Todd Boehly took over the club and sought to bring changes at the top of their club, but talks broke down and a new deal was signed with his current club.
The former player for several clubs in the Austrian Bundesliga has quite a track record of spotting talent already and the likes of Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino all trace their arrival in Europe back to the 45-year-old – that’s ignoring the ‘discovery’ of Erling Haaland too.
The report went on to mention how we already have ‘positive relationships’ with the Red Bull group and so, despite him having over three years left on his current deal, we may be able to prize him away from Austria.
It’s merely just a possible name on the list at the moment but it does appear that Freund could be a great option for the Reds.
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