John W Henry's prudence can help Liverpool build 40m summer kitty
• New owners prefer not to spend in January transfer window
• Liverpool could accumulate funds to buy players in summer
Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, will hope to build up a transfer kitty of 40m for the summer.
John W Henry's cautious notice about what is likely to be a quiet January for Liverpool was to be expected. In contrast to his predecessors, Liverpool's owner intends to run his new acquisition along sustainable lines, which should not be too tricky as even their inflated wage bill is covered by matchday and commercial revenues.
Liverpool's view that January is a notoriously difficult time to purchase players is not born only of parsimony. But prudence means keeping costs in line with income and although Liverpool have access to short-term finance from Royal Bank of Scotland – first revealed here – there will not be vast sums coming in to the coffers in time for the transfer window.
In August Liverpool received 14m from the Premier League's central funds but that was before New England Sports Ventures' debt-clearing takeover, and cash was then committed to servicing interest. Like every top‑flight club they have, though, been receiving 1.5m a month from the league. In January there will be another injection of about 6m – plus the 1.5m monthly payment – but that 7.5m will hardly support a major transfer-market investment.
Instead it makes sense for Liverpool to consolidate that income with the 10m they are likely to receive in May for television appearances, while a top-10 Premier League finish brings in a minimum of almost 7m. Alongside that are the net transfer revenues raised this calendar year of about 15m.
Even without selling another player, a summer fund of 40m looks realistic.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/nov/17/liverpool-transfer-window-spending