Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is expected to perform a mini clearout in January.
The Telegraph says Hodgson will not be allowed to add any players by NESV without first trimming the squad.
Liverpool boast the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League - standing at £107 million in 2009, according to football finance analysts Deloitte - but find themselves marooned in 18th place in the table, having finished seventh in Rafa Benítez's last campaign.
NESV does not blame Hodgson for that poor performance so far this season, but rather interprets it as evidence that many of the squad do not warrant either their reputations or their earnings.
