Ornstein: Liverpool considering crypto shirt sponsor, Man Utd looked at Ashworth, Pochettino’s PSG future under review – The Athletic

Liverpool battled to a 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Sunday to keep their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple alive, and the club are contemplating entering uncharted territory on the commercial side of their business, too.

As this column reported last week, Liverpool are in talks over a new shirt sponsorship deal as their £40 million-a-year contract with Standard Chartered is set to expire in May 2023. And although discussions are continuing about extending their partnership, the club are also talking to firms from sectors including electronics, media and tourism.

Among those parties, The Athletic can reveal, are companies from the cryptocurrency sector. They include a crypto exchange firm — a platform to buy and sell digital currency — and a blockchain platform (a decentralised computer network that underpins cryptocurrencies).

Many English top-flight sides have signed deals with cryptocurrency firms over the past few years but international superstars, such as Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah, displaying such companies on the front of their shirts would be a Premier League first. It is likely to be controversial but Liverpool are desperate to financially compete with other elite clubs and maximise their commercial deals.

There are a lot of environmental concerns about blockchains, which require vast computing power to operate, and the sector is largely unregulated and is closely associated with financial speculation. Cryptocurrency can be bought and sold on exchanges for financial gains or losses, potentially exposing fans to risk.

The most prominent Premier League cryptocurrency sponsor is Socios, which sells “fan engagement tokens” and has deals with six clubs: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leeds United and Manchester City. Fans of Palace recently held up a banner calling the firm “parasites” but Socios insists it exists for the benefit of fans rather than as a means of currency speculation.

When Liverpool launched a series of NFTs — non-fungible tokens — last month, the backlash was marked.

Fans were consulted about the NFT sales but it is understood the possibility of Liverpool partnering with a crypto sponsor has not yet been discussed with supporters.

Talks are continuing with all parties, with Liverpool hopeful of finalising a deal, which is expected to bring in more than £70 million over two seasons, in the next eight weeks.

The club, meanwhile, will also this week confirm the second game of their pre-season tour of the Far East.

The Athletic revealed in February that Jurgen Klopp’s side would face Manchester United in Bangkok on July 12 and then take on Crystal Palace in Singapore three days later.

Manchester United looked at Ashworth before his move to Newcastle 

No sooner had Manchester United given their fans cause for optimism — confirming last week that Erik ten Hag will take over as manager from next season — than a reminder was served of the daunting task at hand, with Saturday’s loss at Arsenal the latest blow in a dejecting campaign.

There is a major rebuilding job to be done and while Ten Hag must improve the club’s fortunes on the pitch, chief executive Richard Arnold is responsible for delivering progress behind the scenes.

Among various key areas United have sought to strengthen is their football structure. Perhaps the most notable moves so far saw John Murtough promoted from head of football development to football director and former player Darren Fletcher from academy coach to technical director.

This column previously reported the plan to hire a deputy football director under Murtough and only last week two senior recruitment figures, Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout, departed Old Trafford.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick is scheduled to assume a consultancy role once Ten Hag arrives and is also understood to have endorsed Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell to the United hierarchy.

United also explored the idea of taking Dan Ashworth from Brighton & Hove Albion when it emerged around the turn of the year that the technical director may leave his post.

Brighton had fielded interest in Ashworth from Newcastle United and granted them permission to speak with the Englishman, a process which ended with him agreeing a switch to St James’ Park. But prior to Ashworth signing, there was contact with Manchester United. Although it did not constitute a formal approach, interview or offer, they looked into whether he might be attainable.

Any appointment would have needed to fit within United’s existing set-up, however, and it is improbable that would work for either side. At Brighton, like the Football Association previously, Ashworth rose to the top and Newcastle wanted him to assume a similar role.

Ultimately, Ashworth finalised the Newcastle deal and is on gardening leave before starting there.

Pochettino’s future in the balance as PSG conduct review

Mauricio Pochettino claimed his first league title as a manager as Paris Saint-Germain won their 10th French league crown on Saturday but the celebrations were hardly pronounced, reports Adam Crafton.

The club’s ultras began to exit the stadium with 15 minutes left of PSG’s draw against Lens and the players were not able to do a lap of honour after the game as there were not enough people left to celebrate.

The frustrations of supporters have built up this season, with placards in the stands calling for the departures of individuals such as sporting director Leonardo and the club’s commercial expert Fabien Allegre. Some feel the club has prioritised commercial growth over substance, while others have also criticised a perceived lack of investment in the women’s team.

PSG are now considering major changes at the end of another failed Champions League campaign and, as we have reported, the club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has invited consultants from Harvard Business School to bring fresh eyes to PSG’s processes.

Pochettino’s future is more imminently in the balance, with the coach’s future 50-50, at best, and under discussion.

Sources at PSG have told The Athletic that the club does recognise that successive head coaches have not felt sufficiently empowered to succeed as they seek to manage the demands of an intense boardroom and satisfy the indulgences of superstar footballers. If Pochettino is a casualty, he will not be alone as the club is reviewing many aspects of how it works in the hope of running more efficiently.

PSG are continuing to hold out hope for a renewal of Kylian Mbappe’s contract, with the Frenchman’s deal set to expire at the end of this season. Real Madrid remain confident he will join the Spanish club on a free transfer but PSG are dangling a hugely lucrative shorter-term renewal in front of Mbappe and arguing that, at the age of 23, he can join Madrid later in his career. PSG are open to both a two- or three-year renewal, even if Mbappe would not necessarily fulfil the entirety of those deals if he stayed.

Separately, PSG made initial contact with the entourage of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba last summer when he had a year to run on his contract. The club did consider signing him but after the spontaneous signing of Lionel Messi, those plans were parked and Pogba has since run down his contract at Old Trafford and is highly likely to leave. PSG remain one of the clubs interested, although they will not be held to ransom over salary demands.

West Ham holding out for one more year of Rice

West Ham United are determined to keep Declan Rice this summer but have conceded internally they will have to sell him in 12 months, reports Roshane Thomas.

With the club in a Europa League semi-final and vying for a top-six finish, efforts were made to tie Rice down to a new deal. But the England international has turned down a third contract offer.

The 23-year-old has two years remaining on his existing deal but the club have the option to extend for a further year. So, West Ham would look to sell him for at least £150 million in 2023 with two years left on his contract, hopefully after a successful World Cup with England in Qatar.

West Ham, meanwhile, are set to open talks with Hull City over winger Keane Lewis-Potter, who is valued at around £18 million. The 21-year-old has attracted interest from Brentford, who had a bid rising to £8 million rebuffed last summer, but West Ham are keen to do business with Hull again, following the £22 million purchase of Jarrod Bowen in January 2020.

Thuram in demand in summer striker firesale

Among the most interesting aspects of this summer’s transfer market is likely to be the movement of top forwards — with demand typically high yet stock relatively low.

The competition to sign strikers such as Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez not only shows their quality and potential but also the scarcity of elite alternatives that are gettable or even exist.

Further speculation is certain over the futures of leading forwards such as Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Lautaro Martinez, but there is no guarantee they will move on. This will place greater emphasis on the level below such high-profile options and within that realm is said to be the Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram.

Thuram has been linked with a host of big-name clubs in recent years and, despite enduring a disappointing season, it is anticipated there will be numerous suitors for the versatile attacker, 24.

The Frenchman is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and The Athletic understands they will try to sell Thuram in the next window for a fee of £10-15 million, rather than lose him on a free transfer in 2023.

Thuram came close to joining Inter Milan last summer and was on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar. Arsenal are thought to have previously considered him and the Sochaux youth product has been admired at Chelsea, although there were believed to be reservations about working with his agents.

It was announced last week that Thuram — son of France legend Lillian — had switched to new intermediaries and is now represented by Sport Cover, which looks after Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira, as well as players Michy Batshuayi, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Wissam Ben Yedder.

Thuram arrived at Gladbach for €12 million (£10.1 million) plus add-ons following Guingamp’s relegation in 2019 and has scored 28 goals in 101 games. The campaign has been complicated by injury but the France international scored on his most recent appearance and is set to return from a minor issue shortly.

Old Trafford missed out on hosting Fury-Whyte

In an alternative reality, Tyson Fury would have been defending his heavyweight world title at Old Trafford rather than Wembley on Saturday night, write Laurie Whitwell and Sarah Shephard.

Talks for Manchester United to host one of the biggest fights in British boxing history progressed to an advanced stage.

Fury, a United fan, was keen to explore the feasibility of having the bout against Dillian Whyte in his native north west but ultimately, the dates didn’t work. At the time discussions took place, Old Trafford was not free until late May owing to Premier League fixtures.

Fury, who fought Deontay Wilder in October, is understood to have wanted the fight against Whyte earlier in the year and Wembley was available in April.

As it happens, United don’t have a match at home after May 2, with the visit by Chelsea, originally scheduled for May 15, brought forward to this Thursday because Thomas Tuchel’s side have reached the FA Cup final.

Staging Fury’s homecoming fight — his first in the United Kingdom since 2018 — would have been worth an estimated £4 million to United.

The relationship between the club and Fury’s team remains good and should the 33-year-old change his mind over retiring, to face Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua, then Old Trafford would be in the mix to host again.

There were 94,000 fans watching at Wembley as Fury knocked out Whyte with an uppercut in the sixth round.

Sheffield Wednesday owner’s father found guilty of insider trading

Despite dropping out of the League One play-off places on Saturday after a 1-0 defeat away to Wycombe Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday are enjoying a much better and calmer campaign than in 2021 when they crashed out of the Championship in disarray on and off the field, writes Matt Slater.

But the news from owner Dejphon Chansiri’s Thai homeland has been less encouraging, as his father has been forced to resign from the company that is the source of the family’s wealth, tinned and frozen seafood producers Thai Union Group.

Kraisorn Chansiri and executive director Chuan Tangchansiri quit the board last week after they and seven shareholders were found guilty of insider trading by Thailand’s Security and Exchange Commission. According to the commission, the 86-year-old Chansiri and his associates bought more shares in Thai Union in 2017 after they had received early notice of a boost in profits. Kraisorn Chansiri has been fined £77,000 and banned from being a director of any publicly-traded company in Thailand for 14 months.

There is no suggestion Dejphon Chansiri, 53, was involved and — unlike his older brother Thirapong — he is not a member of Thai Union’s board. It should also be noted he has always said he is funding Sheffield Wednesday with his own money, not Thai Union’s.

But, having lost millions under his ownership since 2015, Wednesday are utterly dependent on Chansiri’s continuing financial support and it has never been made clear how he made his own fortune.

The club have lost money every year of his ownership apart from in 2018-19, when they were able to include a one-off profit from selling their Hillsborough stadium for £60 million to a company also owned by Chansiri.

Wednesday declined to comment when asked if the news from Thailand would have any impact on the club’s finances.

Late night for Vardy watching his underdogs have their day

Jamie Vardy’s US side Rochester New York appear to be taking a lead from their fiery co-owner judging by events in the US Open Cup third round, writes Laurie Whitwell.

Three players and a coach saw red for Rochester, who survived having nine men for 35 minutes against FC Motown to progress in a penalty shootout.

Vardy planned to watch the game, the US equivalent of an FA Cup tie, and if he stayed to the end will have had a late night on Wednesday, with the contest not finishing until 2.30am UK time.

Just like Vardy, Rochester played on the edge, with Lamar Batista sent off in the 51st minute and Pedro Dollabella following in the 85th minute. Rochester’s 2-0 lead was wiped out by a 91st-minute equaliser but they clung on in extra time.

It means Rochester, who in 1999 became the only non-Major League Soccer team to win the US’s oldest competition, will be missing three key players for the next round, which is away to reigning MLS champions New York City FC. Rochester are in the third tier of US football. Vardy, of course, knows a thing or two about an underdog story.

(Photos: Getty Images; design Sam Richardson)