Liverpool and Nike are set to take their next step and a special guest could be involved

Liverpool’s partnership with Nike is set to expand once again with the launch of a new line of sneakers.

The Reds and Nike officially teamed up early last season after a long battle to move away from New Balance that had to be resolved by the High Court, and the power of the American sports giant’s marketing potential and reach. was a key factor. to Liverpool wanting to join forces.

The new training kits and gear all live up to the course, and Nike had some major wins on that front in the first year, but the club’s marketability globally and Nike’s power in both brands are such that different avenues have been explored. .

The final avenue is where Nike is expected to produce a Liverpool special edition of the popular Air Huarache.

Images have surfaced online of the new sneakers, which are predominantly white with red and white checks across the top of the shoe, while a yellow stripe runs down the tongue. On the heel tab it is written YNWA to abbreviate the club motto “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah responds to Graeme Souness’ ‘greedy’ claim after Liverpool beat Manchester United

READ MORE: What happened in Liverpool’s dressing room after 5-0 win over United

Although no date has been set for the release of the trainers, Entrance magazine claim that it could be before the end of the year.

Nike and Liverpool have produced designer shoes before, with a Reds version of Nike’s classic Air Max 95 trainer having sold out, while in 2012 a pair of LeBron 9 Lows were released in Liverpool colors to celebrate. basketball icon LeBron James’ investment in Liverpool.

James is Nike’s biggest customer with a billion dollar lifetime contract with the company. He is also a Liverpool fan and partner of Reds owners Fenway Sports Group, having converted his 2% stake in Liverpool to 1% FSG earlier this year following the 750 million investment deal. dollars from RedBird Capital Partners.

James has often been seen wearing Nike’s Liverpool outfit, most recently wearing a training top and bottom for the opening of his LeBron James Innovation Center at Nike headquarters in Oregon.

James’ global profile is so huge that it gives Liverpool a reach into markets and demographics that they might not otherwise have been able to access so easily.

FSG has also invested, along with Nike and RedBird, in James’ $ 725 million business, SpringHill Entertainment.

It is likely that before any general release of the Liverpool Air Huaraches, they will first be seen, rather prominently, at James’s feet and made visible by his hundreds of millions of social media followers.

Liverpool’s deal with Nike is seen as a game changer by the Reds, a way for them to bridge the gap between what they were getting with New Balance and closer to the £ 75million type of deals per year from which Manchester United benefits with Adidas.

The Reds receive a guarantee of £ 30million per year from Nike, but receive a 20% royalty on the sale of Liverpool-branded Nike products, meaning the successful launch of a new line of Reds sneakers through Nike will have a direct impact on the finances of the football club.

Get all the latest Liverpool news, squad news, transfer rumors, injury updates and next step analysis for the Reds.

You’ll also get the latest transfer chats and analytics every day for FREE!

Register here – it only takes a few seconds!

Speaking to ECHO, Liverpool Commercial Director Matt Scammell said: “It’s still early days for the Nike relationship and of course COVID has had an impact.

“The impact on physical retailing around the world is significant.

“You look at a club like Liverpool, taking our example, we have a huge retail capacity at Anfield itself, which has historically been very effective in getting the product into the hands of the fans. Likewise, we have other points of sale around the world.

“The impact of COVID cannot be understated, that said, I think Nike is going to put us in a great position for a number of different reasons.

“It has accelerated its direct-to-consumer side of the business and a brand the size of Nike is in a great position to do it. Likewise, as we start to come out of COVID, having these retail capabilities in the world that Nike has is going to be huge for us.

“I had a conversation with Mike Cox who heads our retail and merchandising offering. They have had record global sales over the previous six years. record sales while working with Nike.

“They’re finding ways to engage with the global fan base that we’ve never done before. If you look at our growth, a lot of that with Nike is coming from regions outside of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). ).

“I don’t want to go into too much detail in an area that is not within my remit, but I have a feeling that this will be an opportunity that Nike will be particularly strong in responding to the desires of fans in new markets.

“We are a global club, our fans are everywhere and they want the Liverpool product to be in their hands. Having a brand like Nike involved that has this global distribution experience to market this product to the world will be extremely important for us to as the partnership progresses. “