Oliver Kay
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After a turbulent couple of months at Anfield, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr are close to stabilising their regime at Liverpool for the immediate future and will follow up their £350 million refinancing deal by revealing designs for the club’s new stadium and attempting to secure a deal to sign Javier Mascherano on a long-term basis.
Hicks and Gillett have lost the goodwill of many of Liverpool’s supporters during a harrowing eight-week period in which they have attracted criticism and hostility by approaching Jürgen Klinsmann, the former Germany coach, as a potential replacement for Rafael Benítez.
With Dubai International Capital eager to take the club off their hands, the American tycoons have been under pressure to sell up, but, having resisted an informal offer worth £300 million for the club, they intend to proceed either today or on Monday with a refinancing plan that will represent the start of a charm offensive designed to repair the damage of the past two months.
As well as the refinancing deal with Royal Bank of Scotland — which, after objections from Rick Parry, the chief executive, and David Moores, the former chairman, will lead to £160 million, rather than the entire £350 million debt, being loaded against the club, with £190 million being covered by the owners’ guarantees — Hicks and Gillett will unveil revised plans for a 70,000-capacity stadium in Stanley Park. They are thought to be ready to award the contract to HKS, the Dallas architect whose original design was dropped last month because of spiralling costs. The new design is understood to fall within the club’s £300 million budget.
Hicks and Gillett are also preparing a long-overdue show of solidarity with Benítez. They are eager to be seen to be supporting the popular manager and are expected to provide him with the funds to secure the services of Mascherano. The Argentina midfield player is attracting strong interest from Juventus and Barcelona, both of whom are understood to have been in contact with Kia Joorabchian, the businessman at the head of the companies that own his economic rights.
Mascherano was quoted as saying in an interview in Argentina yesterday that “the time has come to move on” from Merseyside and that a move to Juventus would appeal to him, but Liverpool hope to persuade him to stay beyond his present 18-month loan, which expires at the end of the season.
Under the terms of his existing contract, Liverpool must pay Joorabchian £17 million to buy Mascherano outright and, although they still hope they may be able to negotiate on that price, there is an increasing willingness to secure his services in the long term. A deal will be facilitated if Benítez can raise £9 million by selling Mohamed Sissoko to Juventus, with a move likely over the weekend.
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