Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish faces having to shop in the bargain basement after another season outside the top four. The Telegraph says Dalglish will have funds to strengthen the squad, but not as much as he would had he led a late surge into fourth.

Both he and director of football, Damien Comolli, are going to have to be at their most diligent and persuasive to find the bargains.

Qualifying for the Europa League can also be worth around £6 million if a side makes decent progress, while there may be some profit if Lille buy Joe Cole and AC Milan cough up £6 million to sign Alberto Aquilani.