Fenway Sports Group are still pushing forward with plans to purchase a new club to join Liverpool in their stable, with four options currently being studied.
Just over a year on from Michael Edwards‘ return to Liverpool as part of FSG, his remit to oversee the acquisition of a second club is yet to be fulfilled.
There was an attempt to buy Bordeaux during a period of financial struggle last summer, but the mechanics of the deal were considered to be unfeasible and, after FSG pulled out, the French side were demoted to the fourth tier.
Things have gone quiet since but work is continuing in the background, with The Athletic‘s James Pearce providing an update this week.
Pearce explains that, after the breakdown of their talks with Bordeaux, “an audit of suitable alternatives has since been completed.”
That saw 20 clubs “analysed from financial, technical and geographical standpoints” before being presented to those in the FSG hierarchy.
Liverpool’s owners are now weighing up four of those clubs for purchase, having been deemed the most suitable to join a new multi-club project.
None of those clubs are named but FSG are known to have studied markets in Europe and South America, with Brazilian club Cruzeiro previously touted as an option.
In April of last year, a study from sports tech company Prospect listed Toulouse (France), KVC Westerlo (Belgium), Gil Vicente (Portugal) and Dundee United (Scotland) as clubs which would fit the brief.
Toulouse are currently owned by FSG’s minority shareholders RedBird Capital Partners – with their own purchase in 2020 coming after more than two years of research into over 80 different clubs – who are claimed to be exploring a sale.
Once completed – with no timeline offered at this stage – Liverpool’s sister club will be overseen by Edwards along with FSG’s technical director Julian Ward and director of football development Pedro Marques.
Both Ward and Marques remain heavily involved in other areas at present, with both spotted attending first-team games at Anfield along with academy fixtures at the AXA Training Centre.
A year ago, UEFA updated their ruling over multi-club models to allow two clubs with the same owners to compete in Europe – but only if they are in different competitions, for example the Champions League and Europa League.
Speaking on his appointment as CEO of football at FSG last year, Edwards said: “One of the biggest factors in my decision is the commitment to acquire and oversee an additional club, growing this area of their organisation.
“I believe that to remain competitive, investment and expansion of the current football portfolio is necessary.”
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