Liverpool are not interested in selling either Mohamed Salah or Joe Gomez to Al-Ittihad despite the Saudi Pro League side registering a formidable interest in both.
News of Al-Ittihad’s attempts to lure Salah to Saudi Arabia broke last week, with the links dismissed by Jurgen Klopp ahead of the Reds’ 2-1 win at Newcastle on Sunday.
But that has not stopped the reigning Saudi Pro League champions from attempting to make the Egyptian the highest-paid player in the country.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are also looking to bolster their defensive options, and that has led them to pursue England international Gomez.
Gomez started just 15 Premier League games last season and is keen to play more regular football.
However, Liverpool are reluctant to lose one of their longest-serving players, particularly with Virgil van Dijk facing further punishment following his red card in the victory at St James’ Park.
The Reds have already seen Fabinho join Al-Ittihad earlier this summer in a £40million deal, whilst former captain Jordan Henderson left Anfield to join up with Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
Former Liverpool favourite Roberto Firmino is also now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia after signing for Al-Ahli.
The Reds have made a strong start to the new Premier League season without them, remaining unbeaten in their opening three games as they look to re-claim their place in the Champions League.
They have also been able to add to their own squad recently, signing Japanese international Wataru Endo from Stuttgart for a fee of £16million.
Pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia proved unsuccessful though with both midfielders opting to sign for Chelsea instead.
This has only added to Klopp’s desire to not lose anymore players before the transfer window closes on Friday.
A potential problem for Liverpool and other sides across Europe is that the Saudi transfer window does not shut until September 20.
Therefore both Salah and Gomez could depart for Al-Ittihad over the next few weeks without the Reds being able to replace them, a situation that Klopp has called ‘uncomfortable’.
