Sunderland's Jordan Henderson shows Liverpool's investment in future....

Liverpool's deal for the Sunderland midfielder, whether for £16m or £20m, shows they are serious about rebuilding

There is no truth in the rumour that Antony Gormley has been commissioned to design a second Angel of the North, to honour the Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli's services to industry in the north-east. Or that the project has been delayed while the sculptor demands a £20m premium, for being English. Such sarcasm is drawn to Liverpool's recent spending. Their willingness to pay unrealistic transfer fees, however, shows where they stand as a club.

A potential £55m has been invested in less than six months to bring Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson from Newcastle and Sunderland. These are two players of immense promise who, in terms of top-level performance in the Premier League, have produced one full season between them. So much for the end of expensive gambles and the start of unearthing hidden gems under Comolli and the club's new owner, Fenway Sports Group.

Henderson underwent a medical and discussed personal terms on Merseyside on Wednesday before the conclusion of a transfer package that will be worth £20m, according to Sunderland. Liverpool claim they are committed to spending £16m on the once-capped England midfielder, whether or not the French forward David Ngog becomes a makeweight in the deal. What is indisputable is that the fee was one that the Sunderland chairman, Niall Quinn, and manager, Steve Bruce, felt they could not reject.

"Jordan is a credit to himself, his family and Sunderland's academy and everyone here wishes him the very best for the future," Quinn said in a statement that was in keeping with the distinct lack of acrimony over the transfer. "I'm pleased that we got the deal to a level that we felt was right for our club."

The fee was one that Manchester United, Henderson's suitors when a fine start to the season earned him a place in the England team against France in November, were not prepared to pay. But Liverpool had to, as United have demonstrated by beating them to the signature of two of Kenny Dalglish and Comolli's other targets, Phil Jones and, probably, Ashley Young.

Liverpool do not have Champions League football to offer to what is a limited pool of FSG's preferred targets – young, emerging, British players. They cannot provide overwhelming evidence that a Premier League winner's medal is achievable at Anfield.

They can offer good money, as free-transfer arrivals such as Joe Cole (who earns £100,000 a week) and Milan Jovanovic (£120,000 a week) can testify, but Liverpool do not have their pick at the top end of the transfer market and their capacity therein pales in comparison to United's. As Sir Alex Ferguson said recently, it was Liverpool's time in the 1980s and it is United's time now, and that statement applies to transfers as well as trophies. Jones, Blackburn's commanding centre-half, and Young, the Aston Villa forward, who both had the option of Anfield, look set to confirm Ferguson's point.

FSG has a clear strategy for Liverpool's future but it is in no position to bide its time or haggle over fees and wages when talent becomes available. Prevaricating has damaged the club too often in recent years; a point that Rafael Benítez, the former manager who had lined up deals for Nemanja Vidic and Florent Malouda, only to see them join United and Chelsea for larger fees, often used against his employers.

At least, after the final, debt-ridden years of the Tom Hicks and George Gillett era, Liverpool are in a position to invest under FSG's ownership. It is far better to receive an England centre-forward and midfielder with at least a decade ahead of them for £55m than a note of thanks from the money-lenders.

In Henderson, Carroll and the Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, who appears to be a sound investment at £22.8m after only a half a season at Anfield, Liverpool are showing other young players that they have a coherent policy of rebuilding and challenging for a return to the Champions League. Losing out on Jones and Young will be a setback but Dalglish has alternatives, such as the Birmingham City defender Scott Dann, Aston Villa's Stewart Downing, Connor Wickham of Ipswich Town and Charlie Adam of Blackpool, and Liverpool's owners have shown they are prepared to back him.

FSG is not prepared to harvest players with minimal return, however. Liverpool's central midfield looks overcrowded and that is without the club's interest in Adam being revived. Christian Poulsen has expressed a desire to stay on Merseyside (it is unlikely to be granted), and Juventus's £6m offer for Alberto Aquilani is not being taken seriously at this stage. Aquilani's agent, Franco Zavaglia, has denied that the £20m Italy international has been the subject of an approach from Milan. Liverpool will look to sell both players and many more this summer, as they make their fresh start under Dalglish.

It is a step forward that they can acquire £20m players without having to sell first.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/jun/08/sunderland-jordan-henderson-liverpool