Takeover will help Liverpool match up to the big spenders

Liverpool's potential new owners made it clear last night that their proposed £450m takeover will be just a starting point for "significant" investment in the club, including substantial long-term transfer funds to allow the club to compete with the billionaire-owned Chelsea and Manchester United for the Premiership title, and with Europe's biggest clubs for continental honours.

The club confirmed that they have given permission to Dubai International Capital - a firm whose ultimate owner is the multibillionaire ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum - to conduct due diligence (an examination of the club's accounts) on an exclusive basis.

That puts DIC in pole position to make a formal buyout offer. A bid is expected soon after Christmas, if not before, and the club could be under new ownership early in the new year.

The largesse of Sheikh Mohammed and his family in sporting matters to date has been most visible in their multibillion pound investment in thoroughbred racing and in their ownership of the Godolphin racing stables - one of the richest, most successful racing operations in the world.

A DIC source suggested Rafael Benitez's job as the manager at Anfield would be safe under DIC ownership, and that the Spaniard will have more cash available for players than any Liverpool manager in memory. "DIC are serious people with serious resources," the source said. "That does not mean spending willy-nilly like Chelsea have done at times, so don't expect £21m a time on a succession of Shaun Wright-Phillipses who don't end up playing. But whatever money is required, in a way that makes sense for Liverpool, on and off the pitch, will be available."

Nobody at DIC is willing to talk in specific figures yet, not least because the deal, which looks increasingly solid, is weeks from being concluded. Even the precise structure of the buyout is still up for discussion, including how much equity stake, if any, will be retained by David Moores, the current chairman and 51 per cent owner.

The likeliest outcome is that DIC will pay about £170m for 85 per cent of the club, with Moores keeping some shares. DIC will also clear the club's £80m debt and pay for a £200m new stadium. All this will be done with cash. "This is not a transaction that will need to be debt-financed," a source said. The deal is still likely to be subject to "haggling" over the finer details.

Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, said DIC's planned investment would be the key to building a proposed new Stanley Park stadium, and to being able to compete again with the world's richest clubs.

"This is the latest step on the road of finding the long-term investment that the club needs" said Parry, who elected not to travel to Istanbul for this evening's Champions' League game with Galatasaray in order to concentrate on takeover talks. "Already DIC have demonstrated a full understanding of, and respect for, the club's heritage and values," he added.

DIC is the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, which is the central business vehicle of the emirate of Dubai. DIC's diverse interests around the world include ownership of the Tussauds entertainment group, and of Travelodge hotels in the UK and Doncasters Group, a major engineering component manufacturer.

DIC's chief executive, Sameer Al Ansari, is a Liverpool fan who has been to matches a number of times and could, depending on negotiations, replace Moores as chairman, although Moores will stay in some role.

"DIC has a strong track record as a very serious investor with considerable resources at its disposal," Al Ansari said. " Liverpool's investment requirements [for stadium and squad] have been publicised and we hope we can agree a deal that will provide the club with the funds it needs."

Anfield's capacity is 44,000. The new stadium would hold 60,000, and the extra revenue from that, allied with DIC's deep pockets, should allow Liverpool to be genuine contenders again among England's elite clubs.

* Rafael Benitez has included some unfamiliar faces for the Champions' League trip to Galatasaray tonight. Danny Guthrie, Lee Peltier, David Martin and Stephen Darby are included while Jerzy Dudek, who helped Liverpool to win the European Cup in Istanbul in 2005, starts.

Galatasaray (probable, 4-2-3-1): Mondragon; Cihan Haspolatli, Song, Tomas, Orhan Ak; Topal, Ayhan; Sabri, Ilic, Arda; Sukur.

Liverpool (probable, 4-4-2): Dudek; Peltier, Carragher, Agger, Riise; Pennant, Alonso, Guthrie, Garcia; Bellamy, Fowler.

Referee: O Benquerenca (Portugal).