Liverpool and FSG must avoid falling into a second summer trap, in Keifer MacDonald’s opinion of the Mohamed Salah transfer saga.
It’s fair to say that Mohamed Salah and Liverpool did not anticipate his name to be in the news ahead of the holiday weekend, given his impressive Premier League comeback in the month of August.
The 31-year-old Egyptian has recently been enticed with the riches of the Saudi Pro League, and Al-Ittihad, which is funded by the Public Investment Fund, is apparently aiming to make a spectacular move for the forward before next week’s transfer deadline.
Salah still has a lot to give Liverpool at the age of 31. He did, of course, surpass Reds great Steven Gerrard in the all-time scoring lists with his 187th goal for the team on Saturday during the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Salah, it would seem, still has more chapters of his Liverpool story to write before he possibly follows in the footsteps of fellow Anfield royalty, whereas Gerrard may have controversially traded the beaches of Formby for the sand dunes of Dammam earlier this summer as he cashed in on an eye-watering offer from Al Ettifaq.
Back in May, shortly after Liverpool’s fifth-place Premier League finish was officially announced, the Egyptian declared, “I’m utterly upset. There is no justification for this at all. We had everything we had to qualify for the Champions League the next year, but we fell short.
“We are Liverpool, and entering the competition is the very least we can do. Sorry, but it’s too soon for a motivational or upbeat post. We failed both you and ourselves.
Such a belligerent attitude doesn’t seem like someone who is prepared to leave the structure of the second, greatest Liverpool team under Jurgen Klopp for the Saudi Pro League’s surroundings.
From Liverpool’s perspective, however, as it was with the sales of both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, it would have been foolish to forgo obtaining a valuation for a player who currently earns around £350,000 per week, will turn 32 next summer, and is almost halfway through what may be his final Anfield contract.
That was established earlier this month when Liverpool tabled a British record bid in the region of £110m for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo, who later snubbed a move to Anfield in favour of a move to Chelsea. Such a decision did not come as a surprise to Anfield officials, who had initially held off making a swoop for the Ecuadorian due to his longing for a move to King’s Road.
Nevertheless, it was the days that followed that demonstrated just how problematic it can be to fill the Saudi-sized void in a squad as Liverpool’s eleventh-hour search for a holding midfielder saw them ditch their buy-to-grow policy and settle on a deal for VfB Stuttgart captain Wataru Endo.
