Donyell Malen £52m claim, Tottenham team news, Aurelien Tchouameni eyed
Hello and welcome to our LIVE Liverpool transfer blog for Saturday, September 30.
Liverpool turn their attention back to the Premier League with the first of two consecutive challenging away trips pencilled in. Jurgen Klopp's men take on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in North London at 5:30pm, the ECHO will be bringing full coverage of events later today.
Meanwhile another name has been added to the growing list of wingers linked with a transfer to Anfield - in-form Borussia Dortmund and Netherlands star Donyell Malen has been tipped to replace Mohamed Salah. Former Reds midfielder Steve McManaman has also provided an assessment of the club's chances of signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
Finally other news, it was confirmed this week that Fenway Sports Group’s search for investment in Liverpool has reached a conclusion, with the Reds owners reaffirming that they are not looking at an exit route from the club. New York-based Dynasty Equity, have taken a small minority position in the club, with the move designed to clear the club’s bank debt and not to fund transfer market activity. The value of the deal has not been disclosed but is understood to be between $100m and $200m. There will be no change in operational control at the football club.
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Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE
It is time to switch over to our LIVE coverage of Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool this evening. Team news is already out - Jurgen Klopp has opted to keep Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench - whilst the ECHO's Ian Doyle and Theo Squires are on hand to bring full updates from the match.
Catch all of the action HERE.
Tottenham vs Liverpool: Stat attack
Half an hour until Liverpool release their starting XI against Tottenham, how will they fare this evening?
First here's a look at the recent meetings between the two clubs:
- 30 Apr 2023: Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham (H)
- 06 Nov 2022: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool (A)
- 07 May 2022: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham (H)
- 19 Dec 2021: Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool (A)
- 28 Jan 2021: Tottenham 1-3 Liverpool (A)
So the Reds are unbeaten in their last five head-to-heads - a positive start. Next, here are the top scorers in the fixture:
- Ian Rush (Liverpool) - 13
- Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham) - 11
- Harry Kane (Tottenham), Mohamed Salah, Roger Hunt (Liverpool) - 9
- Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool) - 8
- Robbie Fowler (Liverpool) - 7
Can Salah add to his tally today? He's the only active player on the list.
What Dynasty Equity will gain from Liverpool investment
Having dominated much of the off-pitch discourse for the best part of a year, Fenway Sports Group finally closed the book on their search for minority investment in Liverpool earlier this week.
The Reds owners had kicked the door open to a potential sale of the club back in November 2022, a sales deck presented to would-be investors. They quickly, however, pivoted to a search for a minority partner, one that would provide them with the capital that they required as well as aligned with FSG as a business.
On Thursday it was confirmed that New York-based Dynasty Equity had taken a minority position in the club via a common equity investment, with Dynasty acquiring new shares in the football club.
No financial details have been disclosed in relation to the deal but it is understood to be worth between $100m (£82m) and $200m (£164m), its purpose being to pay down the bank debt that FSG had sitting on their balance sheet following investment into infrastructure projects such as the Anfield Road End, the AXA Training Ground at Kirkby and the repurchase of the Melwood training facility for the women’s team.
Salah weekly salary revealed
Mohamed Salah's adviser has revealed the details of his salary following his contract extension with Liverpool last year.
Salah became the highest-paid Liverpool player in history when he signed a new three-year contract worth around £350,000 per week in June last year. The deal, which runs until the summer of 2025, brought an end to the long-running saga over his future and provided a massive boost to Jurgen Klopp.
And now Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, has told a Harvard Business School (HBS) study that Salah’s contract at Liverpool is the catalyst for him to earn at least £1m a week in total income. Abbas and Salah also detail how close the highest-paid player in the club’s history came to leaving before signing a new deal.
Abbas and Salah agreed for the purposes of the study, which has been seen by the Guardian newspaper, to be quoted as if their words were spoken at the time of the contract talks. Included in the study is just how close the forward came to leaving Anfield before agreeing to a new deal.
Souness makes Liverpool prediction
Graeme Souness has stated that Liverpool would send out a strong message to the rest of the Premier League should they prevent Manchester City from winning a fourth consecutive title.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, the former Reds captain and manager said: "Jurgen won’t be happy that his team have conceded first in five of their eight games this season, though they have come back to win or draw, in a way that they often didn’t last season.
"But if Liverpool can break City’s grip on the title this season, what a message it would send out to everyone else that there is another way to win trophies, which does not involve having limitless funds and a Gulf state sovereign wealth fund at your disposal."
Latest Premier League title odds
Odds via Betway
Manchester City 4/11
Liverpool 13/2
Arsenal 10/1
Latest Liverpool team news
Trent Alexander-Arnold could make his return to the Liverpool squad this evening.
Speaking on Friday, Jurgen Klopp said: “Trent trained yesterday normal and will train today normal, and then we have to make a decision.
“He will be in the squad, I’m not a doctor so cannot make that decision, but it looks like he can be in the squad tomorrow and play.”
However, the Reds will be without Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara and Conor Bradley for the game.
Klopp said: “Stefan had a little, little setback. The problem with Stefan is I can imagine everyone wants to see him play more – I want – but we have to be really careful.
“And now it’s a little, little, little tiny calf issue. That’s how it is when you are six months out.
“And we try everything to get him up to speed without pushing him. We make a very specific plan for him but in the end it’s disappointing for him, of course, but for us as well that he got another one.
“So we have to take him out a little bit. He can work on pretty much everything else but not playing.”
Guimaraes transfer concern
Steve McManaman believes his former club would face plenty of challenges should they move to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle.
The Brazilian midfielder is expected to sign a new contract at St. James' Park in the near future that would include an eye-watering £100m release clause. As a result, the ex-Liverpool man thinks Guimaraes would be off limits to Premier League clubs.
McManaman told Betfred: "If he’s only available for that kind of money, then I believe it would be difficult to pull this move off. I know Liverpool had funds available during the summer transfer window, especially after Jordan Henderson and Fabinho left, but they’ve also brought a number of new midfielders into the club, so I don’t believe they’d pay £100 million to Newcastle United who’re currently one of their closest rivals in the Premier League.
"If Newcastle United allowed Bruno to leave, then I imagine they’d only be prepared to sell him to a club that’s abroad. So for those reasons, I would be really surprised if that deal happened to be honest."
Barcelona 'lead Vermeeren race'
According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are leading the race for Royal Antwerp midfielder Arthur Vermeeren - who has been linked with a move to Liverpool.
The Reds have been linked with a January move for the 18-year-old, who is also said to be attracting interest from Ajax.
Former Barcelona, AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven full-back Mark van Bommel, who is the current Antwerp manager, joked earlier this month that he would withhold information about Vermeeren from his former club so they won't buy him.
He said: "I won't give him any information, because he would buy him immediately. I am very happy that he has been playing with us all this time.
“It is incredible how he has improved in one year. Since he started playing, he has been decisive. He is not only interesting for Barcelona but for all the teams."
Tchouameni claim
According to a report from Spain, Liverpool will reportedly make another move for Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
Spanish publication Todo Fichajes, Liverpool will go all out to sign the 23-year-old, who is not happy at the Santiago Bernabeu. It is claimed in the report that the Frenchman does not have the "support" of his manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
The Reds tried to sign Tchouameni from AS Monaco before he eventually ended up signing for Real during the 2022 summer transfer window. In eight appearances so far this season, the midfielder has only completed 90 minutes on three occasions.
£52m Donyell Malen claim
Liverpool are reportedly interested in Borussia Dortmund's Donyell Malen - but it would take a bid in excess of £50million to land the Dutchman.
According to German publication Sport Bild, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has long been interested in the Netherlands international, even before he joined Dortmund from PSV Eindhoven in 2021.
And the report further claims that Malen could provide good back-up for Mohamed Salah or even be his longer-term successor.
But Bild also says that because Malen's Dortmund contract runs until 2026, it would take at least £52m to tempt them into a sale. The forward has scored four times and claimed two assists in his first seven outings.
Good morning, Reds!
Good morning and welcome to our Liverpool FC live blog this Saturday!
The football never stops as Jurgen Klopp's men play once again today. They face Tottenham Hotspur on away turf at 5:30pm.
Since the North Londoners relocated to their new stadium the Reds remain unbeaten there with three wins and one draw. The ECHO will be bringing full coverage later on today, but in the meantime we want to know if you think this clean record will continue?
Spurs certainly look revitalised under Ange Postecoglou, but Liverpool's rediscovered fighting spirit is difficult to ignore!
