Earlier this year it was decided that Liverpool would be changing their kit manufacturer from New Balance to Nike.
Supporter fear that the huge American apparel brand would use the same styles for the Reds’ new kits as they would for their other clients appeared to be allayed when Nike’s Senior Director of Global Communications, Heidi Burgett, tweeted that they were ‘ditching the templates.’
However, as Empire of the Kop have pointed out, now that the new designs are known, one in particular bears a striking resemblance to another in the Nike range.
The expectation will be that Liverpool supporters will still buy the kits up in their droves, and at a not insignificant spend to boot.
Arguably, it’s just not possible for kit manufacturers to make a set of kits that are specific to one particular club, though it should be incumbent upon them not to make what amounts to a promise that they don’t intend keeping.