KUALA LUMPUR // A tour sponsor said that the Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish plans to cut short his Asian trip and return to England to finalise the signing of Stewart Downing from Aston Villa.
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The two clubs have reached an agreement for the winger, who has been a prime target for Dalglish all summer, after two previous bids of £12 million (Dh71m) and £15m had been refused prior to yesterday's breakthrough.
The Liverpool squad arrived in Malaysia today in their on-going pre-season Asian tour but an official representing the Malaysian sponsors, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they have been told Dalglish will fly back to England later today.
Downing effectively forced Villa's hand by submitting a formal transfer request and the Birmingham club have now accepted a bid, which has not been disclosed by either club but was last night reported to be worth £20m, for the England international.
Negotiations can now begin with the player, who turns 27 later this month.
"Liverpool have now been granted permission to discuss personal terms with the player and arrange a medical," Liverpool said in a statement on their website.
Alex McLeish, the Villa manager, had insisted he wanted Downing to stay in the midlands, as Liverpool hovered with intent. But the size of the latest offer proved irresistible, given Downing has only two years remaining on his contract.
Downing made it clear only last month, when on England duty, that he would not sign an extension with Villa, effectively forcing them to listen to offers.
Arsenal were reported over the weekend to have joined the competition for left-footed Downing, who can operate on either wing.
However, Villa denied receiving an offer from the Gunners, and barring a late intervention from Arsene Wenger the path appears clear for Downing to move to Anfield.
Should the deal be concluded, the international, capped 27 times by England, would become the third high-profile midfield recruit by Dalglish this summer, following the signings of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland and Charlie Adam from Blackpool.
News of Downing's anticipated arrival came on the day Liverpool offloaded Paul Konchesky, a summer signing 12 months ago, to Leicester.
With Milan Jovanovic also expected to leave, perhaps for Anderlecht, and others including Christian Poulsen, Alberto Aquilani and David Ngog thought to be available for transfer at the right price, Dalglish is rapidly rebuilding the squad he inherited from Roy Hodgson in January.
Dalglish's team won 4-3 in a pre-season tour match in China against Guangdong yesterday, in which both Poulsen and Ngog scored.
Downing's departure from Villa after just two years would be a setback for the midlands club, who also sold Ashley Young to Manchester United last month.
McLeish will now press ahead with plans to bring in new blood.
The Scot has already been linked with Wigan Athletic's Charles N'Zogbia, whom he came close to signing when in charge of Birmingham, while the goalkeeper Shay Given's £3.5m move from Manchester City is expected to go through soon.
"We believe there are replacements available in the market who can strengthen our squad ahead of the coming season, and we are in discussions as such," said the Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner.
"We are also working hard to conclude a deal for a goalkeeper who we believe can also strengthen the side."
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
RESULTS
Men – semi-finals
57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.
67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.
60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28
63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.
71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28
81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27
86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
