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Jorg Schmadtke is set to sign a short-term contract to become ??s new sporting director. The 59-year-old German executive, who has a wealth of experience from working in the will officially take over from the outgoing Julian Ward on June 1.

Ward, who has served Liverpool for the past 11 years in various roles, turned down an offer from Ajax in March and will take a break from football. Liverpool moved to secure the services of Schmadtke after considering the merits of various candidates including Monaco’s Paul Mitchell and ??s Markus Krosche.



The contract comes with an option to extend should both parties be happy with how things work out over the coming months.



Schmadtke will work closely with Liverpool’s head of recruitment Dave Fallows and the chief scout Barry Hunter throughout the summer window.



Unlike a year ago, when ??s future was still up in the air at the end of the season, Schmadtke has no such contract sagas to address.