Sheikh Mohammed is ready to test the partnership between the joint owners of Liverpool by making a formal offer for the club.

The billionaire's investment company DIC has been studying closely the terms of a restructuring deal at Anfield that Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett announced last week.

And now the investment arm of the Dubai government is primed to approach the pair with a fresh offer that will value the club in the region of £300million.

DIC's hopes of buying the club they first bid for a year ago seem to rest on exploitation of the uneasy relationship between the two US tycoons, claims The Mirror.