Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and Gabriel Heinze - £50m worth of talent that will have the rest of the Premiership quaking when they face Liverpool next season.

The Anfield club's American owners have backed up their promise to give Rafael Benitez the cash to bolster his squad - and bolster it he is about to do with some more top quality signings to add to the £26m purchase of Torres. The Spanish hit man is already netted and Babel and Benayoun are set to join him soon by all accounts. That just leaves Heinze to make the short trip along the M62 once Sir Alex Ferguson and United get used to the idea of selling one of their better players to their Scouse arch rivals.

Even Roman Abramovich will be quaking in his boots at the outlay by Liverpool. Chelsea FC seem to be downsizing now as Abramovich draws in the purse strings on his billions. But they are still signing quality players such as Tal Ben Haim and Steve Sidwell - they are just not splashing out hugely inflated sums like some of their rivals appear all too willing to do.

'Even Roman Abramovich will be quaking in his boots at the outlay by Liverpool. Chelsea seem to be downsizing now as Abramovich draws in the purse strings on his billions'


Manchester United, once notoriously regarded as the tight wads of the top flight because of their refusal to be mugged in the transfer market, are prepared to sign increasingly bigger and bigger cheques - and that's despite being saddled with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of debt by the Glazers. So Liverpool have ensured they will be more than a match for Chelsea, United and Arsenal this coming season.

On the other hand, Roy Keane, another former United legend, is playing it cool as the cameras and media circus focus in on his upcoming debut as a Premiership manager. There is already talk that Keane is set for Old Trafford once Fergie retires - when pigs sprout wings that is. Fergie retiring? I mean! I think he's more likely to be carried out of OT feet first!

Keane did a near miraculous job in converting Sunderland from a rock bottom Championship side to champions in little more than half a season, but he says he is very much on trial now in the top flight with the Black Cats. Wise move Roy. But I feel sure he will land a top job, or take Sunderland to the pinnacle and stay with them even, in the long term.

One guy who won't be going far if he responds to transfer enquiries from clubs in the same way each time is Djibril Cisse. But at least the Liverpool striker with the eye-catching hair-do wasn't a million miles from the truth when he described Bolton as a third-rate club. What he should really have described them as is a third rate club that achieves.

Premier league, Transfer rumours, Sports News