Al-Ittihad chief to explain Mo Salah transfer position

Anmar Al-Haili

The president of Al-Ittihad has stated that he will soon go public on why he was unable to sign Mo Salah before the Saudi Pro League transfer window slammed shut.

Anmar Al-Haili has vowed to explain why his club missed out on signing the Liverpool ace and other options including Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Ramos.

It is widely accepted that Liverpool rejected a £150million offer for Salah during the summer and that the Reds made it clear that they would also reject a £200million offer should the Saudis return with an improved bid. Al-Ittihad didn’t step up insisting that they would respect the message that was being conveyed to them from Anfield.

Salah is expected to make a switch to the Saudi Pro League next year, although few expect that the 31-year-old will leave Anfield in January.

Fabrizio Romano is always worth a listen and he chimed in on the situation a few days ago by stating that he couldn’t see Salah leaving during the next transfer window.

He said: “In January I see him staying, absolutely. I see him staying, I see Mo Salah being a part of the Liverpool project. Absolutely, nothing to mention on that. I don’t think anything can happen in the January transfer window.

“At the moment the message from Liverpool is the same as we had in the summer, Liverpool want to count on Mo Salah, he’s an absolutely crucial player for them.

“Remember that when they received important approaches from Mo Salah in the summer, in the final days of the European transfer market Saudi offered a package worth around £150m, an incredible amount of money for Mo Salah, and in that case, Liverpool said ‘no’, so I don’t see them selling the player in the middle of the season, a very important season for Liverpool. ”

“They are still there fighting to win the Premier League, doing very well in the Europa League, so it’s a positive season for Liverpool. I don’t see them ruining it by selling Mo Salah in January. In the summer we will see, but in January I think it will be really complicated.”

Although Liverpool insist Salah isn’t for sale, the recruitment department are already drawing up a number of possible options for when the inevitable does happen.