Liverpool determined to hold on to Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah is not for sale and Liverpool will not entertain any offers for him in the summer, claim sources close to Anfield officials.

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are not interested in cashing in on the 25-year-old despite reports that Barcelona, PSG and Real Madrid would be willing to bid around £200million for him in the summer. The trio are all said to have registered an interest in him but unless he indicates that he wants to leave Anfield, they will be wasting their time. That’s currently the unofficial line coming from the club’s senior hierarchy.

Supporters will, of course, remember a similar stance when Barcelona and PSG started sniffing around Philippe Coutinho and we know what happened there. However, the Brazilian wanted a move to the Nou Camp and when a player wants out, there’s not a lot any club or its owners can do to prevent it and that would apply to Mo Salah too. If he wants to make a move to Spain for example, then it would happen at some point.

Few supporters trust FSG as many feel that the Americans are quite happy to buy young players and then move them on in the future if they develop into quality stock. That’s sensible business to anyone but the fans who obviously would have preferred to have held on to the likes of Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, but both players wanted out and we mustn’t forget this.

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You will recall that when LFC/FSG issued statements that Coutinho wasn’t for sale that we never believed them and that we predicted a January transfer, despite others insisting he would never be sold mid-season. We believed at the time that the statements were just part of a long-running game of bluff and the negotiating process. So, is that what we’re currently seeing now with regards the interest in Salah? No.

Whether you want to believe it or not, the circling of Salah has been ongoing for months, notably by Real Madrid. You can bury your head in the sand and dismiss reports if you want to disbelieve the various claims that are made, but we have no doubt that the interest from Madrid in Salah is genuine. We’re not sure about the PSG and Barcelona links just yet but it makes sense that Europe’s best clubs would want Europe’s best players. The reason why you’re currently reading about £200million valuations and indirect denials from Anfield about his availability is because of the interest from Madrid. It started many months ago and it could rumble on for some time but Liverpool want to try and stop it. It’s not idle speculation that you’re being subjected to, it’s Real’s attempts to unsettle and eventually swoop. [ED: Have you noticed how many Real Madrid players have been linked with us over the last few months by the Madrid-based media? Do you think that’s just a coincidence?]

While Salah may have a desire to move to one of the Spanish giants at some point in his career, we’re led to believe that those in his circle are more intent on getting him there sooner rather than later. This includes highly influential people in Egypt who believe that Salah turning out for the likes of Real Madrid would be a huge boost to their country. This, of course, puts the player under immense pressure.

As reported on the KopTalk Members website earlier this year, Liverpool officials have some concerns about the intentions of those who are close to Salah. However, sources at Melwood insist that the player has repeatedly stated that he is happy at Liverpool. We’ve heard players say that before, right, and then they’ve moved on only months later? Yes, and as you know, we continually try and drill into you to never believe a single thing they say. But, there’s a difference between what a player tells the media and what a player tells people they trust. We ignore the interviews where players waffle on about how happy they are and instead focus on what they’re saying to the people who they trust and confide in.

While others may want to see Salah move on, within the last week we’ve heard that Salah is open to reviewing his existing contract with the Reds and it wouldn’t surprise us if an announcement on that front comes out of nowhere. Let’s hope it does because we really need this boy to stay with us for a long as possible and it sounds like he’s not ready to move on just yet.

Although Salah may have his career path mapped out, we believe he’s happy at Liverpool and on this occasion, we believe the owners genuinely do not want to sell. Never say never in football but we think the club and the owners will do more to hold on to him than they did with Coutinho.

Yes, we’re going to be subjected to a lot more speculation, some idle, some credible, that’s just inevitable. We’re actually not too concerned about that just now. We’re more concerned about those who are in a position to get into his head.

Let’s keep an eye on things and remember, if you’re not a KopTalk member, you could consider subscribing to KopTalk.TV, our free YouTube channel, for the latest ongoing opinion in relation to all of this from the KopTalk editor. Please note that KopTalk.TV is for over 18’s only and not the easily offended!

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