Liverpool have been warned to expect more twists and turns yet on the future of star player Mohamed Salah amid transfer interest from Saudi Arabia giants Al Ittihad.
Writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, LFC writer Neil Jones explained his latest understanding of the Salah situation, which won’t exactly make for relaxing reading for Reds fans.
Ben Jacobs wrote in his CaughtOffside column yesterday that Al Ittihad could bid again for Salah, and it seems Jones has similar information, and has suggested one reason we’re not seeing this story go away is because the Egypt international himself could be tempted by the prospect of a move.
Salah has had a great career at Anfield and may well feel he’s earned the chance to pick up one final huge contract whilst also being able to potentially extend his career in a less competitive league.
Other big names have moved to Saudi Arabia in recent times, including former Liverpool stars Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, so it will be interesting to see if the club could also be persuaded to part ways with Salah if a big enough offer came in.
One thing’s for sure, it seems we can expect more drama between now and tomorrow’s deadline, according to Jones.
“Liverpool’s stance throughout the whole saga surrounding Mohamed Salah has been pretty straightforward – he’s not for sale. I expect, however, that their resistance will be tested once more before the Saudi Pro League window closes on Thursday,” Jones said.
“We know that a verbal offer, worth a total of £150m, was rejected late last week, and it is fair to say that Anfield sources expect at least one more offer to be tabled this week, with all the suggestions being that it could be up to, or even more than, £200m.
“Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday that he doesn’t expect Liverpool’s stance to change, and sources I have spoken to around the situation have suggested the same, but that is an awful lot of money for a player who is 31 and who has given six years of quite remarkable service to the club.
“The fact that the bid has even arrived suggests that Salah is, at the very least, not completely opposed to the idea of moving to Saudi Arabia, but Liverpool’s inability to sign a replacement – it would be hard enough if they had a full window to prepare! – makes this a hard deal to justify from a footballing point of view.
“I don’t think anyone, at this stage, can say with 100 per cent certainty what will happen. If I were a betting man I’d lean towards Salah staying, but I’m expecting a few more twists and turns before Thursday is out.
“I hope Liverpool stand firm, because with Salah in their team, the potential for a really good season at Anfield is real.”
The reason the story doesn’t go away is because journalists keep speculating on everything.
Salah is on over £18m a year, so I don’t think money is his concern.
He’ll stay because he still wants to perform at the highest level, he’ll leave because he’s won everything he wants, so now wants easy money.
I won’t blame him, whatever he chooses.