Liverpool's owner, Fenway Sports Group, is anxious to rid the club's wage bill of several expensive transfer errors this summer to maximise Kenny Dalglish's budget for "highest quality" signings.
FSG has sanctioned a substantial outlay on recruits at Anfield, with an approach having been made for Sunderland's Jordan Henderson and interest in the Aston Villa pair of Stewart Downing and Ashley Young expected to develop after their commitments with England. While FSG is willing to spend heavily on transfer fees it is, however, reluctant to increase an already inflated wage bill and wants several high-earning players to make way for the additions.
Liverpool had the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League in 2010 – £121m – but failed to qualify for the Champions League next season and last. FSG inherited a host of financial burdens from the previous owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and the former managers Rafael Benítez and Roy Hodgson, and faces the dual problem of needing to improve Dalglish's squad – "We want to get the highest quality of player in that we can," the Scot has said – while starting to comply with Uefa's fair play regulations.
As John W Henry, the club's principal owner, said recently: "The worst surprise [following FSG's takeover last October] was the lack of depth in the squad. Our biggest concern in taking on this responsibility was this issue and it was a bigger issue than we feared. There was a huge multi-year payroll for a squad that had very little quality depth."
The free signings Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic, for example, earn £100,000 and £120,000 a week at Liverpool respectively, although the latter's astonishing salary includes a signing-on fee payable over the first 12 months of his contract. Cole made nine Premier League starts last season and Jovanovic five. Paul Konchesky, Christian Poulsen and Brad Jones, who cost £5m, £4.5m and £2.3m respectively and were also part of a disastrous transfer policy last summer, are surplus to requirements too but are liable to deter potential suitors with their salaries. Philipp Degen, Nabil El Zhar and Emiliano Insúa also remain on the payroll.
Liverpool must pay a final instalment of €5m (£4.4m) to Roma for Alberto Aquilani by the end of June and must decide whether to accept a major loss on the Italian midfielder or bring him back to Merseyside after a season's loan to Juventus.
Juventus have offered only £6m for a player who will cost Liverpool a total of £17.6m, with Roma to receive 5% of any fee agreed, although the 26-year-old's agent has insisted a compromise deal is possible. Franco Zavaglia said: "All season Juventus have always given me the necessary guarantees that they want to keep Alberto. The next 24 hours will be decisive. Any eventual economic agreements will follow after Juventus make their decision. If Juventus can't do a deal for Alberto and he has to return to Liverpool, then Milan would certainly be a destination that he would accept."
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