Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net

Henry.(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

As Liverpool close in on a deal for German superstar Florian Wirtz there has been a shift in narrative among rival fans, now criticising a summer of heavy spending for the Reds.

For so long under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool were something of the outliers when it came to transfer spending in the market, preferring to focus on the underlying data and sniff out a bargain for players with a low price but high ceiling.

The perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market by FSG, which is always linked to the price paid for players and never seems to take into account the actual impact, has been something that has been a hot topic of discussion every single transfer window.

Indeed, the Reds posted the lowest gross transfer spend of all 20 Premier League clubs for 2024/25 at £36m, with only the arrivals of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who stayed with Valencia for an extra season, and a cut-price deal for Federico Chiesa, who would be a bit-part player.

READ MORE:What Liverpool did to solve contract problems after 'weird' Mohamed Salah decisionREAD MORE:Liverpool have three options on table after Florian Wirtz U-turn and swap deal plan emerging

But Liverpool won the title.

The idea that Liverpool was just a cash cow to be milked and success on the pitch didn’t matter was erroneous.

It is about growth.

It may be an unpopular statement to make for some fans who require stronger hits of dopamine from transfer activity than others, but the list of those who ‘own well’ in the Premier League and beyond is not extensive.

But from very early on, as ECHO sources close to FSG in the US had maintained throughout the process, the idea had shifted to try and find out what the whole price of the asset was so that they would know how much they could sell a slice for, which they did to Dynasty Equity in September of 2023.

The move came two years on from the 2020 Premier League win, out of which FSG were criticised for a lack of action in the transfer market.

There is still bullishness over values of the biggest Premier League teams, while in the US there is likely to be some stagnation given the incline it had been on and struggles for the likes of baseball to still remain as relevant as it had been in the face of changing consumer habits.

The football is working at Liverpool, and that is really all fans should have to care about, but the value of having a strong business, where there are still growth opportunities, shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to predicting how the Reds might be able to sustain success and bring in the money that allows them to do that.

Speaking to the ECHO in April, chief commercial officer Ben Latty spoke on the plans to make the club “the most impactful partnerships platform in sport” when it came to commercial activity, and the success that has been seen with Liverpool off the pitch in recent seasons has also not gone unnoticed by Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, the New York-based investment fund that took an 11% stake in FSG back in 2021.

Speaking to CNBC Sport in the US last month, Cardinale, whose firm has a controlling ownership stake in Italian giants AC Milan, said: “Take Fenway Sports Group.

“That was the one time in my career where I decided to be a junior partner and not the primary partner.

It isn’t about making a statement, it’s about signing a player that will enhance their chances of turning a Premier League title into several, and helping the Reds continue to grow a global brand.

The football is all that matters at the end of the day.