Liverpool are pretty close to signing Mo Salah, with Roma requiring we up our £28m opening offer by just £7m to get a deal done, the Times claim.
But we could have signed the Egyptian for about three times less than that in 2014, before Chelsea stole him from our grasp.
According to the 24-year-old, who plundered 19 goals in all competitions this season, a phone-call from Jose Mourinho convinced him to drop Liverpool and move to west London instead.
Here’s what he told journalists in 2016, before he entered Jurgen Klopp’s shortlist.
“Liverpool had wanted me for a number of months. They had opened talks in October 2013,” Salah told MBC Masr, cited by IBTimes.
“Negotiations took a long time, because Basel rejected more than one offer. They felt the transfer fee was not that high. I was waiting for Liverpool because I really like Liverpool. I was eager to join them.
“But then I received a phone call from Mourinho and that changed everything. He explained the situation to me and told me that he needed me at Chelsea. That was one of the main reasons why I joined Chelsea.
“Mourinho told me that he thought I was a good player and that he wanted me to pick Chelsea.”
For some fans, this might put us off Salah, but it really shouldn’t. At the time, Liverpool had Brendan Rodgers in charge and it’s clear the lure of one of the greatest (if detestable…) managers in the world would be a pull for any player, especially with FSG haggling so incessantly over fees.
Mourinho though failed to get the best out of the young winger, but he similarly messed up with Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De bruyne – so we should judge Salah only on his recent performances in Italy.
He has the attributes our frontline needs: pace, skill, goals and the ability to play in a number of positions.
For Klopp, it’s clearly a no-brainer. Let’s hope it gets done soon.