Finance guru issues ‘£56m’ reveal after source update on Liverpool signing Haaland
Liverpool consistently have a lower net spend than their peers and are unlikely to abandon their business model to sign Erling Haaland.
So says of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Liverpool’s admiration of the 21-year-old superstar.
A Liverpool source told this site last Friday (31 December) that Jurgen Klopp would love to sign the centre-forward but it is not expected to happen.
It is understood that Liverpool overlords Fenway Sports Group do not believe they have the financial muscle to get a deal over the line.
The Norwegian’s release clause means he is available for a relatively modest £68million, but that would be offset by goliath wage demands.
Plumley claims that it is no surprise to see that FSG are reluctant to break the bank for the Borussia Dortmund man, whose contract runs until 2024.
“Over the last five or six years, that isn’t how FSG have run the club,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“They had one big year where they spent £160m, but their net spend for the last four years is £56m.
“If you look at City, theirs is £140m, Chelsea’s is £94m, Man United’s is £126m. Compared to the clubs around them, they haven’t spent that much.
“Haaland would be a huge transfer for whoever he signs, and I think he will sooner rather than later.
“But you have to look at the clubs that have funded these galactico transfers recently and Liverpool isn’t one of those.
“Their wages to turnover ratio did jump to 72 per cent in 2020. Previously, it has been around 55 per cent.
“So they have spent a bit and extended their wage budget. But the ownership model doesn’t strike me as one that would go out and spend that much.
“Covid will have a big impact on that too. Wages are in the back of everyone’s mind. The transfer fee will be big but the wages are an even bigger factor.“
Haaland has been in mind-bending form since signing for Dortmund in January 2020, netting 76 times across 75 appearances.
Football Insider also understands that Liverpool are struggling to meet the wage demands of Mohamed Salah, whose deal expires in 2023.
In other news, pundit suggests Liverpool have major “problem” after Jordan Henderson and teammate “exposed”.