Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has shared an update on Monday evening regarding Al-Ittihad’s ongoing pursuit of Liverpool attacker Mo Salah.
The Saudi Pro League champions have already failed with an initial £150m bid for the 31-year-old, although they’re expected to try and submit an offer of around £200m before their transfer deadline on Thursday night (Daily Mail).
Jurgen Klopp has repeatedly insisted that the Reds have absolutely no intention of selling him at any price this week, and the forward is believed to have reassured his teammates that he won’t be leaving any time soon (The Independent).
Speaking on Sky Sports News on Monday evening, Solhekol said that Al-Ittihad could make one more attempt at trying to land Salah this week, although the club’s powerbrokers are understood to be split on whether to submit another bid now or wait until 2024.
The reporter outlined: “They have been having talks about what they should do next, and our information is that they want to make another offer for Mo Salah before the Saudi window closes on Thursday.
“Senior figures at the club – some of the most powerful people at Al-Ittihad – are saying ‘Look, we believe it’s worth having one more go to try and get him’.
“There are also very influential voices at the club who are telling them and advising them ‘No, let’s draw a line under this now. Let’s respect Liverpool. They’ve made it clear he’s not for sale. Let’s try again next summer’.”
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next few days before the Saudi window closes at 10pm UK time on Thursday night, but Al-Ittihad definitely do want to try and make another offer for the player.”
Solhekol also pointed out that the Jeddah-based club would need to firstly go through the Saudi Pro League to get an offer approved before it’s presented to Liverpool, a bureaucratic step which could hinder the process with so little time remaining in their transfer window.
The Reds just need to hold firm for three more days until the Middle Eastern deadline; there’s no reason why they can’t, having resisted any and all overtures so far.
You can view Solhekol’s comments in full below, via @SkySportsNews on Twitter/X:
Kaveh Solhekol provides the latest on Al-Ittihad's pursuit of Mohamed Salah ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hzPRQOQuun
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 4, 2023