With the new Premier League season on the horizon, Premier League clubs are busy recruiting new players to bolster their squad. One team that will be splashing a lot of money in this window is Everton after they received financial backing from Iranian millionaire Farhad Moshiri and it looks like their arch rivals Liverpool will follow suit with rumours of an impending £700m takeover from an investment group, SinoFortone, supported by the Chinese state government.
Liverpool is currently owned by American company Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and they also own the famous Boston Red Sox. If rumours are to be believed then the Liverpool owners were aware of this particular interest as early as March 2016.
However, the owners including John W Henry are reluctant to sell the club they acquired for £300 million from Hicks and Gillett back in October 2010. After FSG took over, the club has invested heavily on players including £35m for Andy Carroll and £22.8 million for Luis Suarez in the very first transfer window after their arrival.
In addition,they’ve cleared the heavy debt that was left over by the previous owners and also invested heavily in stadium expansion.
SinoFortone which is spearheaded by managing director Peter Zhang made headlines over the course of last year for investing over £5.2 billion in various UK based projects. The firm specialises in large-scale construction projects with their major market spreading across China and the middle east. They invested £2 billion in eco-parks in north and west Wales following the Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Britain last year.
Liverpool’s home stadium, Anfield, is currently undergoing expansion but it looks like the new investors are looking at building a new stadium near the dockland area of Liverpool. In addition, they also plan to improve the club’s training facility in Melwood.
The Reds have already shown signs of improvement under Jurgen Klopp and the current owners would certainly love to stick around to see the club blossom under the guidance of the charismatic German.
The interest in Liverpool is understandable because of the club’s brilliant history and fan base but one other reason could be the vast Chinese community that has been part of the city for many years.
Liverpool have already acquired the services of German keeper Loris Karius and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping to make some very good additions to his squad in order to improve his team’s performance in the league. If SinoFortone acquires Liverpool and provides Klopp the funds to buy any player of his choice, then the Reds will be a force to reckon with next season.
