Fabrizio Romano has moved to quell any fears among Liverpool fans that Mo Salah will leave for Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Earlier this week, Graeme Bailey reported for HITC that the 31-year-old was the Pro League’s main target for the upcoming transfer window, and that Michael Edwards is prepared to sanction the Egyptian’s exit.
However, in his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, Romano insisted that the Reds’ number 11 is quite content on Merseyside, and that nothing is currently brewing in relation to the rumoured interest from the Middle East.
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The Italian stated: “I know there’s talk again about Saudi clubs coming in for the Egypt international, but despite some speculation to the contrary, I’m not aware of imminent proposals and I’m told nothing is happening now/April in general.
“Interest in Salah from Saudi remains strong but it’s not time for proposals, not even for talks from what I’m told. He’s also really happy at Liverpool and being super professional, so there was never any issue, even in the final days of the summer transfer window when they received a big offer from Saudi.”
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With Salah now into the final 15 months of his current Liverpool contract and Jurgen Klopp departing in a few weeks’ time, it seemed inevitable that speculation over his future would surface once more, especially after Al-Ittihad’s unsuccessful £150m bid for him last year.
Considering that he’ll be 33 by the time his existing deal concludes, and that he’s the Reds’ highest earner on £350,000 per week (Capology), there may be a pragmatic argument that cashing in on him before June 2025 would be the sensible option, particularly if a nine-figure offer comes our way.
However, we’re not talking about any ordinary player here. This is a man whose goalscoring exploits are incredibly consistent and who, even when having a quiet game for the most part, is capable of conjuring up a match-winning moment at any time.
Romano also outlined that Salah and Virgil van Dijk, whose contract is also up next summer, are merely biding their time for clarity on the managerial situation before making a decision on their future. Once Klopp’s successor is named, that could be the prompt for that duo to assess whether they want to be a fixture of the new project at Anfield.
We’ll probably see a few reports over the coming weeks suggesting that the Egyptian is halfway out the door already, but this latest update from the reliable Italian journalist should reassure Liverpool fans over the legendary number 11.