As Fenway Sports Group look to acquire another club to partner with Liverpool, data experts have named four clubs from different markets they could explore.
FSG have appointed Michael Edwards as their new CEO of Football, as part of the expansion of their portfolio within football.
The ownership group confirmed upon Edwards’ appointment that they intend to purchase another club, which is expected to benefit Liverpool in terms of players signed.
With that in mind, sports tech company Prospect, which utilises AI to aid experts within the field, have revealed four clubs FSG could target.
Those are Toulouse (France), KVC Westerlo (Belgium), Gil Vicente (Portugal) and Dundee United (Scotland).
Their research predicts that FSG are likely to utilise their next club to aid Liverpool in:
- Very important: Greater work permit flexibility on transfers and loans
- Important: Greater influence on tactical style for loan player development
- Important: Growth in scouting and knowledge networks
It is explained that six Premier League clubs are already partnered with sides in France – the most of any nation – with others in Saudi Arabia (five), Belgium (four), USA (three), Brazil (two), India (two), Portugal (two) and Scotland (two).
Saudi Arabia, the USA, Brazil and India are discounted by Prospect due to various financial and geopolitical reasons.
That leaves France, Belgium, Portugal and Scotland as the primary markets Liverpool are predicted to focus on, with a number of pros and cons for each.
Toulouse (£43m to £68.5m), KVC Westerlo (£6m to £9.4m), Gil Vicente (£6.8m and £10.3m) and Dundee United (£8.6m to £12.3m) are claimed to be relatively inexpensive to purchase.
And they are all likely to bring various benefits to Liverpool in terms of access to different markets, high-level exposure for players and bypassing work permit issues.
Prospect ranked Toulouse as the most suitable club to purchase, which comes with FSG’s partners RedBird Capital already owning the Ligue 1 side and with reports of a possible sale.
However, it should be noted that the appointment of Pedro Marques as FSG’s new technical director for football could hint at a focus on the Portuguese market given his previous work at Benfica.
Prospect’s data also suggests that Sweden, Brazil, the Netherlands and Denmark could be markets that FSG explore, with their report worth reading in full.
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