Leicester City have officially announced the signing of Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward. The 25-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the Foxes in a deal worth up to £12.5m.
Ward becomes Leicester’s fourth addition this summer, joining the likes of Ricardo Pereira, Jonny Evans and James Maddison. And the former Wrexham youngster is eager to get started with the blue of Leicester next season, stating: “I’ve come here to develop my all-round game and hopefully help deliver some more success.”
Ward, who joined Liverpool back in 2012, spent numerous loan spells before being instilled as a regular part of the senior side at the start of last season, replacing Alexander Manninger. However, despite making four appearances for his country Wales, Ward featured in only three competitive games for Liverpool throughout his career at Anfield.
And following the arrival of Brazilian superstar Alisson, the 25-year-old was always going down the pecking order as the Merseyside giants look to make a huge impression in the Premier League next season. Thus, a move away from Anfield does make a world of sense for the Welshman.
Leicester City, on the other hand, will be delighted to have secured the services of Danny Ward after they shipped off Ben Hamer to Huddersfield earlier this summer. The 30-year-old departed the King Power Stadium on a free transfer, leaving the Foxes searching for a viable replacement.
Although Ward is not expected to be given the mantle of becoming the first choice keeper at Leicester, it’s worth noting that their number one keeper Kasper Schmeichel has been a subject of some major transfer speculation, of late.
Following an impressive World Cup campaign, the Danish keeper seems to have attracted the interest of Chelsea, who have reportedly shortlisted him as an ideal candidate to replace the departing Thibaut Courtois. In addition, the 31-year-old has also struggled with frequent injury woes, thus accentuating the need for a new goalkeeper.
Danny Ward, in this case, could be an ideal addition to the club. Despite his lack of experience in top-level football, the 25-year-old has shown immense promise in lower leagues, which initially earned him a call-up to the senior side. In fact, he was Huddersfield’s number one keeper as they won promotion to the top flight in the 2016/17 season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have also included a 20% sell-on fee in the transfer, meaning his former club Wrexham will get a windfall from the transfer as a sell-on clause was part of the deal that took Ward – who spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Huddersfield – to Liverpool for £100,000 in January 2012.
