Jorg Schmadtke has already revealed area he must improve if he becomes Liverpool sporting director

Liverpool are closing in on appointing a new sporting director.

Julian Ward will leave his role at the end of the season - just 12 months into the job after succeeding Michael Edwards.

Certainly, it came as a surprise when it was revealed Ward was leaving his post. Since then, Liverpool have been searching for a new candidate to take up the backroom position that is paramount in modern-day football.

Edwards became a cult hero at Anfield for the umpteen shrewd deals he pulled off - signing the likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Alisson Becker while selling Philippe Coutinho for £142 million. And in Ward's short tenure, he oversaw the arrivals of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo while he played a key role in ensuring Liverpool purchased Luis Diaz in January 2022 despite still being Edwards' deputy.

The candidate who is the frontrunner to become the Reds' new sporting director is Jorg Schmadtke. The 59-year-old was a goalkeeper in his playing days before holding similar sporting director roles at Aachen, Hannover 96, FC Cologne and most recently Wolfsburg. He's also said to have a close relationship with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

Schmadtke made the decision to leave Die Wolfe in February, having helped the club return to the Champions League in the 2020-21 season following a fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga.

Yet it seems that Schmadtke may arrive at Anfield aware of the improvements he needs to make. By his own admission, during his career he has stepped on people's toes.

In an interview with magazine Kicker (via BuliNews), Schmadtke said: "It's possible that I've stepped on the toes of one or two people. I apologize in the strongest possible terms to anyone who feels they've been wronged by me.

"A lot of things happen on the job. In the end, it's all about the job. I have no problems with anyone. There are even people who want to see me again and have a coffee or a beer with me. I'm not as big an ass as people might think."

Liverpool already have a structure in place where everyone knows their role - and has proven highly successful. Klopp and his coaching staff are very much in charge of what happens on the field when it comes to team selection and tactics.

Meanwhile, owners Fenway Sports Group oversee everything at the club, from providing transfer funds to the renovations at Anfield and everything in between. Then there are people such as academy director Alex Inglethorpe, who consistently turns out talent.

It'll therefore be imperative that Schmadtke seamlessly takes over Ward's remit and that alone.

On his future after leaving Wolfsburg, Schmadtke said: "There are other things in life that I want to do. First and foremost, I'm thinking of my wife and my family, who have had to take a back seat for many years. It's time to close this chapter. But it might be the case that, after three months, I can't take it anymore. Or even worse: My wife chases me out of the house again."