Mohamed Salah transfer to Saudi back on as Liverpool get eye-watering offer

Latest reports emerging have indicated Liverpool could receive a new huge offer from Al-Ittihad for Mohamed Salah, which will be left on the table and giving Michael Edwards a major new dilemma over whether to sell their iconic star.

Salah has been nothing short of a revelation since signing for the Reds in a bargain £36.9m move from Roma in the summer of 2017.

A major figure in the success Liverpool have enjoyed under the management of Jurgen Klopp, the Egyptian has blasted in a hugely-impressive 210 goals in just 346 games for the Merseysiders during his seven seasons at Anfield.

However, their talismanic star turns 32 this summer and, with just a year left on his deal, the two parties are approaching something of a crossroads.

As their top earner on an estimated £350,000 a week, Edwards must decide if Salah is worthy of another new contract or whether the time is right to cash in and move the forward on while he still retains a hefty market value.

To that end, Salah has been the interest of long-standing links to Al-Ittihad, with the club Saudi Pro-League side having a club-record £150m offer for the Egyptian rejected at Klopp’s request last summer.

Their interest though has not waned and it’s been strongly reported they will launch another offer to try and convince Liverpool and Salah to make the move this summer.

With Klopp on his way and leaving Anfield after the current Premier League season comes to an end, there are some who believe the time will also be right for Salah too to move on.

However, trusted reporter David Ornstein revealed his belief earlier that Salah will stay at Anfield this summer and that Al-Ittihad may have to wait until summer 2025 when they can land the Egyptian on a free.

And with Paul Joyce of The Times echoing those claims, stating Edwards is a huge admirer of Salah and only sees him remaining as part of the set-up next season, it seems for all intents and purposes that the Egyptian’s lengthy association with the Reds is set to continue.

However, speaking on The Inside Track podcast, former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, who now works as a football consultant, is adamant the Saudis remain determined to bring the Egyptian to the Gulf State this summer and claims a substantial fresh offer has been left on the table for Liverpool to consider.

“With one year left on his contract at 31, the numbers I’m hearing from Saudi sources are around £70m plus add-ons of around another £30m,” Wyness stated.

“I believe those add-ons will be pretty achievable in the Saudi Pro League, in terms of goals and trophies.

“That’s the number we’re looking at, which gives them the magic headline number of £100m.”

Wyness added: “I think Liverpool would be right to cash in on him now.

“Part of the play for the Saudis is that the value of the TV rights would explode. Those rights are up for renewal right now.

“I think there’s one eye on the revenue streams, rather than just the football side of things.

“He’s the most recognised and favourite footballer from the Middle East. I think Liverpool should do it this summer. It’s a lot of money with just one year left, and it would be wise to take it right now.”

Whether Liverpool do choose to ultimately accept the offer or not – and the noises we’re hearing at TEAMtalk is that Salah and Liverpool will continue together into next season – the pressure dial on the Egyptian has been firmly turned up by former Reds midfielder and manager Graeme Souness.

In something of a vitriolic attack on the Reds frontman, Souness has branded Salah as “the most selfish star I have ever seen”, claiming he “disappears” from tough games and can allow his side to get “bullied”.

“I believe Mohamed Salah is off and leaving Liverpool. He has been fabulous for Liverpool, but if he leaves to the Saudi Pro League then he’ll be the biggest star in that part of the world,” he said on the William Hill podcast, Three Up Front.

“He no doubt has an exceptionally large opinion of himself, and he’ll have been angry at not starting the game against West Ham last week. I think the situation with Jurgen Klopp was a reaction to only being brought on with 10 minutes to go – it was more Salah than it was Klopp in that confrontation.

“Salah is the most selfish player I have ever witnessed. Even prior to that game, whenever Klopp takes him off, he is never happy about it. That is what you want from your players, if you take them off on two goals, they should want to stay on to score a third. When Sadio Mane was there they’d fall out all the time.”

Souness has also criticised Salah for failing to put his body on the line when games are going against the Reds.

“When the going gets tough and another player puts it on him, Salah will disappear from a game,” Souness added.

“Last season at Old Trafford, Lisandro Martinez went through him early on, and for the rest of the game Salah was looking over his shoulder for Martinez – he doesn’t like that side of the game. He’ll never get himself hurt.

“It ties into the fact that in the last two weeks Liverpool have shown something that I didn’t think they were capable of, they’re getting bullied. It happened when they got beaten 3-0 at Anfield by Atalanta and it happened against Everton at Goodison Park not so long ago.

“Everton had too much passion and aggression and Liverpool got bullied again. You have to be mean and angry to play football, but for whatever reason that has gone completely from Liverpool’s game.

“That is the difference between winning and losing matches. As a Liverpool player, if there’s one game where you need to turn up with aggression and fight, it is against Everton. Of all the games not to turn up, to perform like that against Everton is unacceptable.”

Kennedy

Kennedy

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