Julian Ward has made his mind up on 'outstanding' Liverpool star's future

Julian Ward has a lot of issues to solve ahead of his first transfer window as Liverpool's new sporting director.

The Englishman took over from Richard Hughes at the end of the 2026-27 summer window and was given a tough act to follow.

During his time as Liverpool's sporting director, Hughes spent well over £600 million on new players and, even though most fans thought that they'd be sorted for the next few years, there are still some major red flags among their ranks.

And, the fact that some star players such as Ronald Araujo don't have their futures ironed out yet is massively concerning.

However, as with every job, tough decisions need to be made and now, it seems like the Reds have come to a decision on one star.

Liverpool will not sell Jeremie Frimpong in January

Recently, a lot of talk has occurred about the future of some Liverpool players.

At the moment, the Reds are massively underperforming and find themselves fourth in the Premier League table.

The fact that they're already nine points adrift of first-place Arsenal after just 10 games is quite scary.

However, with the January window coming up soon, their fortunes could be about to change.

Many different rumours have emerged from L4 recently with some even linking Jeremie Frimpong with a move to Al-Hilal.

But, after this latest update from Football Insider, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"The Reds have no intention of cashing in on the Dutchman this winter, and are wary about potentially leaving their squad short of depth for the rest of the campaign," they wrote.

"However, sources say that if a 'big offer' were to arrive from Saudi Arabia in the summer, then it is something that both Frimpong and the club would be open to.

"Liverpool have enjoyed a bright start to the season under Iraola, but are wary that their situation in defence is a little precarious at the moment.

"The boss does not have the level of squad depth that he would like, and feels that his group is lighter than several direct rivals.

"With that in mind, the club believe that they cannot afford to let Frimpong go in January, regardless of the interest from Al-Hilal."

Jeremie Frimpong still has an important role to play at Liverpool

It's not a surprise to anyone to find out that Frimpong hasn't performed very well since he joined Liverpool last season.

The right-back was brought in to become Trent Alexander-Arnold's replacement with his goal and assist record at Bayer Leverkusen rather extraordinary.

But, for one reason or another, things just haven't clicked for the Dutchman at Anfield.

And, while Araujo may have made the right-back spot his own this season, there is still the odd game here and there where Frimpong is needed.

His pace, coupled with his attacking prowess are two pieces of skill that Liverpool are lacking in at the moment.

So, even if Al-Hilal do actually want to sign the 25-year-old at some point in the future, right now, he's too valuable for Liverpool to get rid of.

Here's hoping that, even if the "outstanding" defender does leave next summer, he manages to find some sort of form before the end of the 2026-27 campaign.