According to sources in The Mirror, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is growing more and more anxious that the team wants to sell star attacker Mohamed Salah.
Al-Ittihad, a member of the Saudi Pro League, had previously made a £150 million offer to the Reds, but there is rising optimism in the Middle East that a higher offer might still be approved given that the Saudi transfer market doesn’t close until Thursday, 7 September.
A new offer of almost £200 million is expected and the Mirror reports that while Klopp wants the offer rejected, he is concerned that the figure will tempt the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, to take over.
Also, according to Sky’s Kaveh Solhekol, the Egyptian found it hard to turn down a lucrative £1.5m-a-week salary and the chance to be a Middle Eastern icon.
RIGHT TIME TO SELL?
As we saw during his tenure at Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s transfer policy has always favored younger players with resale potential, leaving Salah vulnerable to Al-Ittihad’s moves.
In FSG’s eyes, selling the 31-year-old for a world-record fee would represent good financial business, as his best years are clearly behind him. That policy was evidenced by the sale of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Al-Ittihad and Al-Ettifaq respectively, despite Klopp’s desire to keep them both.
THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENTS
However, sanctioning the sale of Salah now would leave the Reds without a transfer signing until at least January, which is a notoriously poor time to find a good price.
And while the Liverpool striker is well-rounded, Salah is the only senior left-footer who can operate on the right, and a loss of scoring could seriously hamper his Premier League title run.
That’s why Klopp hopes Salah will stay for another season and move to Saudi Arabia next summer. The decision is probably out of his hands, though.
