Breaking Down FSG’s Proposed Move for Toulouse | OneFootball

FSG’s Pursuit of Toulouse: A Competitive Edge for Liverpool

Recent reports suggest that Fenway Sports Group are setting their sights on the acquisition of French football club, Toulouse. The Liverpool owners have recently hired Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes and have revealed their plans to take over a second club to help identify talent for Liverpool.

This run of ambitious moves and decisions could potentially open the door to an incredibly bright future at Anfield. But today, we’re going to focusing on FSG’s rumoured identification of Toulouse as a potential partner for the Reds.

Relevant Links at Toulouse

One of FSG’s business partners, RedBird Capital, took over the French club back in 2020 and those business links could prove crucial to any takeover from Fenway Sports Group. Michael Edwards has reportedly already opened talks with the French club over a potential takeover, which would see the start of a multi-club network.

There’s further links between the two clubs on the football side of things, too. Damien Comolli was a transfer chief at Liverpool between 2010 and 2012 and is now the President of the French Club following RedBird’s takeover.

These links could make the potential takeover an pretty straight-forward transition, but many will be wanting to know more about Toulouse as a football club…

Photo: IMAGO

Why Toulouse?

Toulouse have become quite an ambitious club since the arrival of RedBird Capital in 2020. By 2021, they had been promoted back to the top flight and in 2023 won the French Cup for the first time in the club’s history. That led to them qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, where they met Liverpool in the group stages earlier this season.

As a club, they have recently started to lean towards a very youthful project, which would suit Liverpool’s plans perfectly. Youngsters like Thijs Dallinga, Zakaria Aboukhlal and Guillaume Restes have all made waves for Toulouse in recent years.

Footballing Impact for Liverpool

Clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea have benefitted from a multi-club network in the past, with those two clubs treating their affiliated sides almost as an academy extension. Whilst this likely won’t be the case for Liverpool, due to the higher stature of Toulouse compared to the likes of Vitesse and Girona previously, it will provide an opportunity for more flexible recruitment.

Most obviously, these sort of links are often used in the transfer market for loan moves. This allows players to improve their game at a club still tied to their parent club, where a close eye can be cast. Teams like Watford and Udinese have also used each other for permanent deals in the past, so should a talented player arise at Toulouse, Liverpool would likely be in the driving seat if interested.

The agreement could also be brilliant new for Toulouse themselves, with FSG’s intelligent ownership plans often being quite ambitious. For example, just look at the strides that Girona have made since Manchester City’s owners took over the Spanish side. Ultimately, the move would allow Liverpool a stronger grips on talent in European football and especially in France. However, a move to take over a Portuguese club has also been tipped recently.