Premier League chiefs and Carragher set to give takeover the green light
THE proposed takeover of Liverpool could be granted approval as early as Friday, the Premier League confirmed last night.
A £300m offer to buy the club from New England Sports Ventures (NESV) – principally owned by Boston Red Sox chief John W Henry – was accepted by the Liverpool board of directors yesterday despite strong opposition from current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
League bosses have been kept informed of developments and have revealed it would be more than happy to give the takeover the go-ahead.
It said in a statement: “The board of the Premier League has been kept fully informed of developments regarding the potential sale of Liverpool FC by the chairman and senior executives of the club and has, accordingly, been made aware of a number of potential prospective owners in recent weeks.
“We can confirm that Liverpool FC has formally notified the Premier League of an intended change of control and that the board has undertaken to complete all the necessary processes by Friday so that the sale of the club can proceed.”
Meanwhile, Reds defender Jamie Carragher has thrown his weight behind the proposed takeover.
Under new boss Roy Hodgson, the Reds are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League after suffering their worst start for 53 years.
And Carragher said: “Everyone knows it’ll be a good thing for the club. Hopefully it will be sorted sooner rather than later and we can start improving results, which is what we need to do.”