KopStuff - Thurs 27th May. Hicks Talks Money / Stopper Antolovic Anfield Bound?

Thursday 27th May.

Tom Hicks promises 'significant' investment. Rafa in for Antolovic?

With the World Cup only weeks away, the red tops are struggling to provide their usual feast of transfer gossip and crazy news. The national press has placed country before club, putting silly season on hold until the middle of July.

News: TeamTalk reports that co-owner Tom Hicks has 'good news for Rafa', with the promise of 'significant' investment. No doubt in response to yesterday's publicised grilling from former owner David Moores, the American made the audacious claim that (seventh placed) Liverpool have actually improved under his stewardship. He furthered this with a sidewards swipe at Moores, stating that spending had actually doubled at the club in the first three years of US ownership.
With debts in the region of £351 million, it's hard to see where this promised investment will come from, and no doubt the banks with whom the debts have been repeatedly renegotiated will have some say in any spending decisions.

Rumour: The S*n offer up one piece of transfer gossip, with the suggestion that Liverpool have entered the race to sign 21 year old Croatian 'keeper Marijan Antolovic. Drazen Pernar, sporting director at Antolovic's club Cibalia, has apparently named Spurs and Liverpool as interested parties, though a cynic may suggest that this is to raise the profile, and price tag, of a hitherto unknown player. Liverpool do have space for a reserve 'keeper after the sale of David Martin to MK Dons, but any prospective player would have to be happy with being third-choice in the pecking order.

And finally: In a typical arse/elbow move, the S*n has gone back on yesterday's Torres story, choosing to run today with the headline Torres: Spain Is My Only Focus.
Despite the Spaniard's agent stating categorically that the striker would remain at Anfield next season, the S*n has decided to interpret yesterday's press conference comments as a sign that nothing is written in stone. Whether or not the Spanish public would be interested in hearing their star player discussing club as opposed to country some fifteen days before the World Cup appears to be immaterial.
If there are no stories to report, make one up.