Liverpool Goalkeeper Will Return for Pre-Season

Following a successful season on loan with Huddersfield Town, goalkeeper Danny Ward had hoped to return to the newly promoted club to take part in their pre-season with the goal of spending another season with them—this time in the Premier League. Now, those hopes may be in doubt.

It’s now certain he won’t be taking part in their pre-season, at least to start, and will instead return to train with Liverpool so that Jürgen Klopp can get a first-hand look at what a season on loan in the Championship has done for Ward before deciding what to do with him for the coming season.

With Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius ahead of him, though, staying at Liverpool seems the longest of shots, and it’s hard not to wonder if a second season at Huddersfield wouldn’t make more sense. That still could happen, but The Terriers won’t be able to wait too long to sort their goalkeeping situation.

Ward’s return to Liverpool for pre-season means, at the very least, that a Huddersfield return is no longer the certainty it once appeared. And if a return isn’t certain, it would be hard to blame David Wagner’s side for wanting to bring in a new starting goalkeeper in the meantime.

However, on that front there’s another potential wrinkle to the story: Ward’s return to Liverpool for pre-season rather than to Huddersfield could reflect that the newly promoted side are rumoured to at least be considering trying to sign the goalkeeper permanently.

Originally, the plan had even been for Ward to spend pre-season at Huddersfield ahead of a second year on loan—but that was before they earned Premier League promotion. Now, whether they want him permanently or Klopp just wants a closer look, his future seems less certain than it did a month ago.