Why Liverpool selling Danny Ward for £12.5m is the steal of the summer
As per reports, Danny Ward has left Liverpool for Leicester City. The Foxes have signed the goalkeeper for £12.5m.
Ward, 25, made just three first-team appearances for Liverpool since signing for them in January 2012, spending the 2016-17 season on loan with Huddersfield Town and helping them secure promotion to the Premier League.
The 25-year-old returned to Anfield at the start of last season but was only Jurgen Klopp’s third-choice goalkeeper, behind Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet. But with the Reds signing Alisson Becker from AS Roma, Ward has been allowed to leave the club.
However, Ward has not been brought by Leicester to replace Kasper Schmeichel, although the Danish goalkeeper has sparked interest from Chelsea.
Alisson’s signing has left Liverpool with a surplus of stoppers. They’ve wasted little time in addressing the goalkeeping conundrum. With Ward having only been handed one start under Klopp last season, it became apparent that he would be moved further down the pecking order following the arrival of Alisson.
So by allowing Ward to leave the club, Klopp wants to make Loris Karius as the deputy of Alisson. It is the right move from the Reds to allow Ward to join the Foxes after the Welsh goalkeeper had a year wasted last season.
Ward, however, was overlooked by Klopp this past season as he spent time in the U23’s side, unable to get the first-team action he desired and deserved.
As such, the shot-stopper was sent out on 3 consecutive loan spells between 2015 and 2017, with his most recent stint away from Liverpool at Huddersfield Town catching the eye. He was a permanent fixture in David Wagner’s side, making 43 Championship appearances in their promotion-winning season.
With Schmeichel heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, Claude Puel’s Leicester have done the perfect thing to make a move for Ward. He is 25 and needs to be playing first-team football on a regular basis to unlock his top potential.
He has shown his quality whenever given a chance and is a very skilled goalkeeper to have at the King Power Stadium.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have done an excellent job to make Leicester pay £12.5million for a goalkeeper who did not even play a single minute in the Premier League last season.
It is a shrewd piece of business pulled off by the Reds and while many Kopites had hoped to see Ward get a chance to establish himself at the club, they would be content to see him compete with Leicester’s No.1 Schmeichel or even replace him.
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