Liverpool are reportedly set to resist any late attempts from Al-Ittihad to sign Mo Salah before the Saudi Pro League’s transfer window closes on Thursday night.
There have been reports on Tuesday morning of a world-record offer worth £215m being presented to the Reds (comprising £170m plus add-ons), with the Jeddah club having seen an opening bid of £150m rejected by the Merseysiders a few days ago.
As per Liverpool Echo, LFC’s stance throughout the entire saga has been that the 31-year-old isn’t for sale, and they’ll reiterate that standpoint even if the Saudi champions submit an improved proposal over the next 48 hours.
The report adds that Liverpool ‘consider the matter closed and are planning for the rest of the season with Salah in their ranks’.
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If Liverpool can even get through today without giving any sniff of a hope to Al-Ittihad over a potential sale, that could be enough to see them hold onto Salah for the remainder of 2023 at least.
It’s been claimed (by the Liverpool Echo and others) that some of the Saudi delegation tasked with trying to sign the Egyptian feel as if Tuesday represents their last realistic chance of making a breakthrough towards getting a transfer done prior to the deadline later this week.
The Anfield hierarchy deserve credit for being unflinching in their stance on the matter up to now, when other clubs may well have caved into the prospect of receiving £150m for a player who turned 31 earlier this year.
There’s surely a recognition that Salah is so crucial to Jurgen Klopp’s side that selling him now, when LFC can’t make any new signings until January, would be incredibly detrimental to the team and the club and kill the optimism which is brewing after a promising start to the Premier League campaign.
Thankfully it seems that the Egyptian himself has no plans on leaving Liverpool, which could well be the biggest cause for encouragement amid this unwelcome transfer saga.
The Reds have made it this far without blinking; they just need to remain resilient for two-and-a-half more days to ensure that a nightmare scenario doesn’t materialise.
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I hope the Saudis do come with an improved offer.
Why? Because Liverpool can use that bid as the floor or starting point for negotiations next summer.
If Daok is deemed ready for regular first team minutes next summer, any bid north of 150miilion quid is too hard to pass up.
It is almost the equivalent of the Coutinho scenario.
If we had a replacement lined up, I’d be tempted to take it. Maybe accept it on the basis of a 6 month loan until Jan and then he heads off to Saudi Arabia.
Problem is, every team we deal with will know how much cash we have to play with.