Michael Emenalo has laid on the charm offensive to try and entice Mo Salah to the Saudi Pro League, with one attempt at luring the 31-year-old from Liverpool having already failed.
Al-Ittihad presented a £150m offer in the final week of the nation’s summer transfer window but it was rejected out of hand by the Reds (The Guardian), with the Egyptian simply deemed too important to sell and no time for us to source a replacement before the English deadline.
However, the former Chelsea chief isn’t giving up hope in trying to convince our number 11 to move to the Middle East in 2024, going by an interview he gave to German outlet TZ.
Upon being asked ‘When is Mo Salah coming?’ Emenalo replied: “Mo is welcome at any time. But no one is pressured or forced to come.
“If anyone would like to come and there is an opportunity to work with the releasing club in a very respectful and professional manner, we would be very happy to have them. But yeah, Mo is my personal favourite.”
Liverpool fans won’t be impressed by Emenalo’s not-so-subtle plea to Salah to try and seduce him towards Saudi Arabia, especially that last part about the 31-year-old being his ‘personal favourite’.
The Middle Eastern nation has already attracted several of the Egyptian’s former teammates, with Bobby Firmino, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho all playing there.
Considering the gargantuan wealth among the top clubs in the Saudi Pro League, and their brash willingness to flaunt it to get what they want, there could well be another enormous bid sent to Anfield in 2024.
Pure economics would steer the needle towards selling, with Salah turning 32 next June and only one year remaining on his contract thereafter.
However, that black-and-white approach goes out the window in this instance, given that the Liverpool legend is simply an exceptional footballer who’s still a consistent game-changer for his side.
Hopefully The Egyptian King won’t be taken in by Emenalo’s sugarcoated, Hansel and Gretel-esque charm offensive.