Mohamed Salah (31) is said to have sparked interest in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports. Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp ruled out a move for the Egyptian.
Despite going behind early and Alexis MacAllister’s red card ultimately not resulting in a suspension after Liverpool’s appeal, the Reds impressed last matchday, claiming a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth. With four points from two games (1-1 at Chelsea) to build on, Liverpool face an expectedly tough away fixture at last year’s fourth-placed Newcastle on Sunday.
“There is no offer” for Salah
Before the clash with the Magpies, who in Jürgen Klopp’s view have made “a great development” under coach Eddie Howe and have “completely deserved” their place in the Champions League, the media representatives at the press conference on Friday morning were primarily concerned with one question: What is the truth about the rumours surrounding Mohamed Salah and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad? “There is nothing”, said the German coach, “that needs to be talked about. There is no offer, Mo Salah is a Liverpool player.” However, if an enquiry does come in for the 31-year-old Egyptian, who Klopp says remains “100 per cent” committed, “the answer would be no.”
Saudi Arabia the “next level” for Klopp
Meanwhile, in connection with the speculation surrounding the African top scorer in Premier League history, the 56-year-old head coach reiterated his view of the current transfer offensive from the desert nation. “It’s not trustworthy, it’s not cool for us, but that’s how it is,” Klopp launched, also citing the Bundesliga as an example in that context: “If we want a player from Wigan Athletic, we go there, they tell us the price and we probably pay it – of course, that still depends on other big clubs. In the Bundesliga it’s also like that: if Bayern or Dortmund come, Bielefeld or Mainz can’t really react to it.”
To make the now existing “next level” created by the teams from Saudi Arabia at least a little fairer, Liverpool’s coach repeatedly pleaded for an alignment of the transfer windows. “I’m sure FIFA could do that in a heartbeat. I’m not sure they want to, but they could. “
While teams from Europe’s top leagues will only be able to poach players from other clubs up to and including 1 September, the Saudi Professional League transfer window will not close until around three weeks later on 20 September. Teams from Europe will therefore not be able to react to any further expected departures to Saudi Arabia.
