• Teams could meet in Mauritius on 18 May • 'I'm very impressed with Mauritius,' says Liverpool official

Liverpool's players are poised to kick-start their summer with a beach holiday with a difference, in the shape of a post-season friendly against West Ham in Mauritius.

The club's director of sales, Olly Dale, was in Mauritius this week to examine the facilities at Anjalay Stadium, the nation's 30,000-capacity showpiece sports venue. Mark Gibbon, widely described in local media as an "agent of West Ham" but whose precise relationship with the club is unclear, was also present, with the match pencilled in for Sunday 18 May, a week after the curtain comes down on the Premier League season.

They were accompanied on their tour by the Minister of Youth and Sport, Devanand Ritoo, his chief of staff, Dev Phokeer, and a representative of Health and Sport, a local company involved in the deal to stage the game.

"I'm very impressed with everything in Mauritius, it's a great country," Dale told reporters. "We've had a very warm welcome extended to us here, so thank you for that. We look forward to any prospective game with the knowledge that this is a fantastic country."

While L'Express reported that the game had been confirmed, Le Mauricien insisted that the deal remains to be completed but that the project has the full backing of the government and local authorities. The teams would not be the first major footballing figures to visit Mauritius, which hosted Sepp Blatter during Fifa's annual congress in Pailles last year.

"It's a fantastic country. It's a fantastic welcome. The people are beautiful," said Gibbon. "I'm very surprised how professional the facilities are, good enough to host any international event here. I'm very impressed indeed."