Chinese consortium in RBS talks over Liverpool takeover

A Chinese consortium are currently holding talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland over a potential takeover of Liverpool.

Kenneth Huang, a former Wall Street stockbroker, is leading the consortium described to be offering “serious money” by sources close to the negotiations.

Current reports suggest that Huang is currently meeting with RBS after already speaking to Anfield officials about a potential takeover.

Star striker Fernando Torres, who returns to training on Monday, will also be asked to wait to make a decision about his future until after negotiations between the consortium and RBS are complete.

The consortium is believed to be backed by a major sovereign fund with much greater financial power than Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners.

The deal would ensure that RBS recoup all of the £237 million Liverpool currently owe, with the consortium planning to clear the club completely of debt.

Sources close to Huang have said that the consortium are keen to push a deal through quickly in order to make use of the current transfer window, with plans to offer Roy Hodgson a significant war chest to ensure Liverpool break back in to the top four.

Huang would want to push on plans for a new stadium as soon as possible, something originally planned by Tom Hicks and George Gillett before the financial crisis made it hard for the American duo to borrow the capital needed for a new ground in Stanley Park.

But a deal may be scuppered by Gillett, who has reopened negotiations with ex-Syrian footballer Yahya Kirdi—the man believed to be the face of another major consortium interested in buying the Merseyside club.

Should RBS accept the offer from the Chinese consortium it would end Hicks and Gillett’s spell in charge of Liverpool, a tenure dominated by power struggles with former manager Rafael Benitez and serious financial turmoil.