Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad are planning to offer Liverpool £100m to sign Mohamed Salah.
Rumours about Salah leaving the Reds for the Middle East have ramped up since last night. But with Jurgen Klopp confirming that the 31-year-old is not for sale this morning, Liverpool fans minds’ should be resting slightly easier.
Nevertheless, Sky journalist Vinny O’Connor has reported that Al Ittihad are readying a big bid to tempt the Reds.
“Al Ittihad are looking to make an offer of around £100m to get that deal [for Salah] done,” O’Connor says. “In many ways it would make business sense for Liverpool. £100m for a player who’s 31 years of age and has two years left on the contact.
“But we know that Liverpool see Mo Salah as a key player still and that’s why they’ve reiterated that he’s not for sale. They worked so hard to tie him to a new contract worth £350k-per-week. He is the highest paid player in Liverpool history. They still see him as a key figure.”
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Al Ittihad preparing Salah offer
The great irony of the Saudi Arabian sides is that although they’re willing to pay outrageous sums in wages, they don’t seem to want to do the same in transfer fees.
Perhaps it’s a reluctance to put money back into other league’s coffers. But whatever the reason, it’s starting to become irritating.
Of course, with very basic context, £100m may be a good deal for Liverpool regarding Salah.
He is getting older and they could shift his enormous wages off the books. His value will decrease from here-on-in, so he’s unlikely to ever again be worth what he is now.
But, that ignores that fact that Liverpool simply don’t want to sell Mo. He’s still worth his weight in gold to them. They’re not looking to make money on him, they need him helping them out on the pitch. Quite simply, he’s currently priceless to Klopp.
If we are to talk about a fee though, it would be far bigger than £100m. Moises Caicedo has just gone for £115m. Ageing or not, with those kind of figures flying around, Al Ittihad can more-or-less double that and it would still look cheap.
As unsuccessful interest in Luis Diaz showed earlier in the window, Liverpool can resist the Saudi clubs. If Mo says no, it won’t happen. If he disappoints a whole fanbase and says yes, the Reds shouldn’t settle for any of this low-balling nonsense.