Liverpool are poised to complete the signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol after the Spanish wide midfielder flew to England for a medical. Terms of the deal have been agreed between the clubs and 26-year-old Riera must only prove his fitness to seal his move to Anfield.
The fee involved is thought to be around €10million, with Riera set to return to the Barclays Premier League having previously had a loan spell with Manchester City in the 2005-06 season.
Meanwhile, the club's plans for a new stadium in Stanley Park have been delayed yet again due to "global market conditions", according to a club statement.
The announcement, which came in a club statement today, is not unexpected as it has been feared for some time that American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were having trouble raising the funds for the €500million new ground, which will be built adjacent to the current Anfield site.
When the Americans took over 18 months ago they immediately redesigned previous plans and had to allow for new planning permission.
The current credit crunch is being blamed for the latest delay, even though enabling work has already started in and around Stanley Park.
The club statement said: "Our commitment to building a new world-class LFC stadium is undiminished. Like many other major development projects in the UK and overseas we are affected by global market conditions and as such work on the project will be delayed in the short term.
"We will use this period productively and revisit the plans for the stadium to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats."
Only yesterday it was revealed that EU grants to fund re-generation of the Anfield area had been withdrawn.
The cash, around €6.5million, is not a huge amount of the great scheme of things at Anfield, but it was a significant blow to the credibility of the Americans' plans.
The money had been earmarked by the European Regional Development Fund for a community partnership centre as part of the new stadium.
But the timescale involved meant the money had to be re-allocated last November and the stadium centre will now have to be fully funded by Liverpool FC.
The €6.5million will now be spent on four community centres in north Liverpool. It is also believed that the club have yet to officially sign the lease from the council for the Stanley Park site, and contractors have also yet to sign formal agreements.
It is now possible that north-west regional development grants may not be paid to the club. Meetings with Liverpool City Council recently also failed to confirm when building work would start.
Today's announcement will only add fuel to the claims that Liverpool's owners are unable to fund the work, and re-ignite suggestions they may have to sell the club.
