Football finance experts believe talk of a £2bn takeover for Liverpool would see the club undervalued.

The Liverpool Echo says FSG have reiterated the club is not for sale but remain open to the idea of selling a minority stake in return for the right investment.

That Liverpool were valued in the attempted takeover at £2bn has raised eyebrows, particularly given as recently as June they were calculated as being worth £1.45bn by American business magazine Forbes.

But football finance expert Kieran Maguire – a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool – says: “FSG see a lot more growth in the club.

“In their masterplan, they'll believe in four to five years Liverpool will be worth closer to £3bn.

“The most recent Premier League takeover deal that went through was at Arsenal where Stan Kroenke bought out Alisher Usmanov. That valued Arsenal at around £1.8bn.

“While Arsenal have historically been able to generate more money from matchday revenue as they have a bigger stadium, Liverpool have taken steps to bridge that gap and are by far the more popular with sponsors and commercial partners because they have the history and heritage which appeals to an overseas fanbase."