Dubai consortium at Anfield for the long haul

Liverpool are not on the brink of a Roman Abramovich-style revolution, even though their takeover by the Dubai International Capital consortium appears to be moving closer to completion.

The prospective deal is entering a process of due diligence, with neither side willing to make any public pronouncements about what exactly will be in store at Anfield.

But it is understood DIC chiefs were particularly attracted to invest in the club for its existing squad of talented young players, rather than any urge to throw limitless sums in the transfer market.

DIC chief executive Sameer Al Ansari no doubt made the facts clear to Reds boss Rafael Benitez when the pair met shortly after the team's 4-0 Barclays Premiership thrashing of Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.

Benitez told the Liverpool Echo: "I have spoken to the people. It was a very nice meeting, but we didn't talk about the details of the takeover.

"They've made it clear they want to do the right things for Liverpool in the future and this will not be a short-term deal. Their idea is to make Liverpool a success in the long term."

Neither the club nor DIC would comment on reports that the projected deal includes assurances that the club will be moved to a new £200million stadium.

However, it is thought unlikely DIC would have committed themselves to such an undertaking relatively early in the process - with due diligence still ongoing.