Fabrizio Romano has shared the latest on Mo Salah’s ‘situation’ ahead of the January transfer window, with rumours over a possible move to Saudi Arabia not going away.
Al Ittihad submitted a £150m offer to Liverpool in vain nearly four months ago (The Guardian), and the Reds are believed to be ‘braced’ for further attempts to prise their number 11 away from Anfield in 2024 (The Mirror).
In his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside on Wednesday morning, the Italian outlined that Steven Gerrard has urged Al-Ettifaq chiefs to give him funds for new signings in January, although it seems most unlikely that the Egyptian forward will be one of them.
Romano wrote: “I’m not aware of specific names yet for Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq, but for sure it will be a busy January for them. There will be many signings and the number will depend on the opportunities. Gerrard told the board in a very clear way, both in private and public, that he needs new players.
“The situation is very quiet with Mo Salah and a Saudi switch, however. Salah is fully focused on Liverpool as they’re flying in all competitions, but the Saudis still like him obviously and they still dream of Salah for their project. This is not something concrete for the January transfer window.”
As Romano alluded to, Liverpool’s position regarding Salah should be even stronger now than what it had been at time of Al Ittihad’s audacious big-money offer.
With half of the season completed, the Reds sit top of the Premier League table having lost only one top-flight match (and that in hugely contentious circumstances), while they’re firmly in the hunt for Europa League glory and favourites to lift the Carabao Cup.
As ever, the Egyptian has been at the forefront of his team’s charge for trophies, with his 16-goal haul almost twice as many as LFC’s next higher scorer, Diogo Jota on nine (Transfermarkt).
The time will eventually come when the 31-year-old moves on from Liverpool, but thankfully it doesn’t look like happening for the remainder of the current campaign, and it surely won’t be for Al-Ettifaq.
Gerrard’s side are mid-table in the Saudi Pro League and realistically have no chance of competing for major silverware, so if Salah is prioritising football motivations over every other factor, there’s simply no way that he quits Anfield for Dammam – or any club in the Middle East – next month.
📖 Anfield Annals: John Smith – Liverpool’s Red Knight and Most Successful Chairman