Amit Bhatia to mastermind elite signings for Liverpool with Barcola ‘only the start’
Amit Bhatia and 1892 Holdings could secure several more top-class signings for Liverpool after playing a role in the capture of Bradley Barcola, with Anfield reporter Lewis Steele predicting a big 12-18 months.
1892 Holdings is a consortium led by former QPR chairman Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The consortium also includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – the third-richest person in the world – and Eduardo Saverin, one of Facebook’s co-founders.
It was initially thought that the consortium would purchase a third of Liverpool Football Club, but the deal actually saw Fenway Sports Group sell off 38 per cent of their majority stake.
1892 Holdings have reportedly paid FSG just over £2billion.
Speaking on talkSPORT earlier this week, presenter Jim White revealed that FSG president Mike Gordon and Bhatia had aided negotiations to sign Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain.
“Last night, I spoke to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG,” White claimed.
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“[He said] Bradley Barcola is an amazing player, but our rule is that any player who doesn’t want to stay can leave.
“He then said it took a while, but Mike Gordon ‘was very professional and very direct, and that’s why we closed the deal together. I thank him for that.’
“He also mentioned the new vice-chairman, Amit Bhatia, being helpful in closing the deal.”
On Anfield Index, the Daily Mail’s Merseyside correspondent, Steele, was asked if Bhatia’s involvement in such talks could be a sign of things to come.
“Yeah I think so,” Steele replied. “They’re going to want their fingerprints all over the club, and this is only the start.
“They’ve only had the stake for the best part of two or three weeks. They’ve not even had it officially ratified yet and they’re apparently already getting involved.
“So, if this is a sign of things to come, who knows what it’ll look like in 12-18 months into the future.
“We’ve said that FSG might, you know, slowly be on the way out.
“There’s been nothing to actually suggest that is the case, but if you read between the lines, it does feel like the new guard are trying to get they’re feet under the table a bit more and try and dictate proceedings around Liverpool.
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“But what I would say is they’ve got a lot of money so it’s no bad thing if they’re getting involved in transfer dealings.”
Liverpool could enter the market for a new central midfielder, right-back and right winger next year.
They have registered their interest in Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, who saw a transfer to Chelsea fall through late on deadline day.
The Reds made bids for right wingers Yankuba Minteh and Ismaila Sarr but could not sign either player.
Barcola can play on the right flank if needed, but Andoni Iraola could still do with a specialist replacement for Mohamed Salah joining.
Many Liverpool fans want the club to sign a right-back too as there are concerns over Jeremie Frimpong’s suitability, while Conor Bradley might not return from knee surgery until next year.
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