Liverpool have no intention of selling Mohamed Salah during this transfer window and will not negotiate with Al-Ittihad, who are making a renewed push to try and tempt the Egypt forward to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ittihad, who bought Fabinho from Liverpool for £40m this summer, were previously thought to be willing to bid about £52m for Salah, and were prepared to offer the 31-year-old a two-year contract worth a reported €180m (£141m).
The Saudi Pro League are now prepared to offer Salah almost double that amount to tempt him into a move, and are hoping to sound out the player before approaching Liverpool with a bid. There is thought to have been direct contact between Salah’s team and Liverpool about the new offer, but the club’s position remains unchanged.
Earlier this month Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, distanced the Egypt forward from a move to Saudi Arabia. “If we considered leaving [Liverpool] this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer,” Issa tweeted. “Mohamed remains committed to LFC.”
There is no indication yet that Salah, who is the highest-paid player in Liverpool history, has changed his mind over the move – but if he has, the only option open to him is to try and force a move from Anfield.
The Saudi transfer window is open until 20 September, almost three weeks after the Premier League deadline on 1 September. Al-Ittihad have also signed Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and former Celtic winger Jota already this summer.
