This season, Mohamed Salah has been retained by Liverpool, but was that the right decision?
Mohamed Salah is still a member of Liverpool. At least temporarily, I suppose.
Al-Ittihad ultimately decided not to match their initial proposal of £150 million due to the Reds’ decision to reject any enticements from the Saudi Pro League for the Egyptian player.
Salah is currently continuing his campaign at Anfield for Jurgen Klopp’s new-look team, and Liverpool had made it clear that even a deal in excess of £200 million would not be considered.
But were the Reds right to stand their ground and repress the desire to cash in on the 31-year-old?
Turning down £150 million for a 31-year-old player seems like a fool’s errand, but the circumstances surrounding the Mohamed Salah scenario make it nearly difficult for club owners Fenway Sports Group to accept the conditions being offered by Al-Ittihad.
Even though the Reds’ transfer window was still open at the time that particular proposal was rejected, there was just not enough time to find a suitable substitute. Any attempt to do so would have resulted in spending too much for a last-minute purchase who would not have the same impact as the unrivaled Egyptian at Anfield.
Salah is one of the top players in the world at his position, which means that there aren’t many footballers who could replace him to the same level. Salah is also Liverpool’s most productive shooter throughout the Premier League history.
You can’t even make a strong case for spreading the money among the team because Salah is already a member of Liverpool’s five-man frontline department, making it seem unlikely that the team would try to sign more than one player for that specific area of the field given the limited opportunities.
Salah’s potential future offers may merit further examination in the future, but this transfer window was not the appropriate moment to do so. If FSG and the club had agreed to sell their top goal threat after the market closed, they would have faced a revolt.
“This was about optics more than anything else,”
Ian Doyle: In some ways, Liverpool made a gutsy decision to stand their ground over Mohamed Salah. It would have been simple for the Reds to leave their options open after Al-Ittihad made a bid of £150 million and invite the Saudi Pro League team to make another, higher offer.
No matter how brilliant a player is, refusing an offer for more than £200 million for a 31-year-old doesn’t seem like good financial sense. If Salah’s replacement hadn’t been found in time, the financial loss of perhaps losing another Champions League would have been more than made up for by the money from his sale.
However, for both sides, this was more about perception than anything else. Salah received a resounding message from Saudi Arabia that he is wanted and will be rewarded generously if he decides to move teams in the future.
And for Liverpool, it was proof of the Egyptian’s significance to the team and that they believe the current lineup is capable of helping them accomplish their goals for the season. At this point in the transfer window, they didn’t want to upset that specific apple cart. Salah may now continue demonstrating why Saudi Arabia is so interested in him.
Future Saudi transfer appears inevitable.
Theo Squires: Liverpool would have faced a difficult choice if Al-Ittihad had made a £150 million offer for Mohamed Salah a month earlier. It was never in the Reds’ best interests to sell this late in the summer because they had no time to find a successor.
Even still, such a sum could have been used to bolster the team, much like Liverpool did after selling Philippe Coutinho for £142 million. However, they had been able to prepare for that exit because they had long seen it coming.
It made little sense for the Reds to get themselves further into a situation given that Saudi Arabian interest in Jordan Henderson and Fabinho has caught them off guard
Salah once again tallied 30 goals and 16 assists in the previous campaign. He is still going strong at the age of 31, and his presence at Anfield might mean the difference between making it to the Champions League or coming up painfully short.
Future Saudi transfers appear imminent, but not just now because there are still goals to be scored and championships to be won. Liverpool is certain that they will be able to sell for a profit when the time comes, so a world record price may not be on the table once more, but interest from the Middle East in football’s most well-known Muslim player will be waiting for him.
Liverpool might have made a major announcement during the transfer period.
Keifer MacDonald: To put it briefly, sure. All of Liverpool’s efforts during the transfer window would have virtually been undone if they had approved the sale of Mohamed Salah.
Salah’s presence at Anfield from now until the end of the season is unknown.
