Danny Murphy has told Mo Salah that, if the Egyptian has no intention of leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, he should publicly address the rumours and ease the worries of Reds supporters.
The Merseyside club have already rejected one offer from the Middle East for the 31-year-old (Sky Sports), but with the transfer window in the west Asian country remaining open for another few days, the interest from Al-Ittihad is set to persist.
LFC have made it abundantly clear that they’ve no plans to cash in on the forward, irrespective of how much money is offered, and their former midfielder has now urged the man at the epicentre of it all to make his standpoint known to the wider world.
In his latest column for the Daily Mail, Murphy wrote: “Let’s get one thing straight. If Mo Salah has no interest in going to Saudi Arabia, there’s no conversation to be had.
“Jurgen Klopp does not want to sell his star player. The message from Liverpool has always been clear: Salah is not for sale. The only way Salah leaves is if he says he wants to go.
“And yet here we are. Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad still want to sign him. Their transfer window doesn’t close until Thursday. The noises aren’t going away.
“If I were Salah, someone who knows how loved and revered he is at Liverpool, and I wanted to stay, I’d want to come out and put it all to bed. But, as yet, we’ve heard nothing from Salah.
“No matter what, Salah will be remembered as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats. If he stays, he will only enhance that reputation.”
Murphy is right in suggesting that if Salah doesn’t want to leave Liverpool and has no plans on moving to Saudi Arabia, he should publicly state as such, as those words coming from him would offer greater reassurance to Reds fans than from anyone else.
However, until such time that happens, the rumours over a potential exit will continue to circulate; and even if the Middle Eastern transfer deadline passes with the Egyptian still at Anfield, speculation may continue throughout the autumn over a possible move in 2024.
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Of course, given that he’s reportedly been offered an eye-watering £1.5m per week (Sky Sports), it’d be understandable if the 31-year-old were giving serious thought to the offer and mightn’t have yet arrived at his decision.
It very much feels as if the fate of this transfer links rests with Salah. If he wants to stay at Liverpool, that should be the end of it, but if he were to show a desire to join Al-Ittihad, his current employers might then relent and take the considerable fee for him.
It goes without saying that we want the Egyptian King to resist the Saudi overtures. We just hope he makes up his mind to that effect sooner rather than later so that Reds fans can finally rest easy over the future of a club legend.
#Ep88 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️