Al-Ittihad are making one final attempt to snare Mohamed Salah from Liverpool – as the Saudi Arabian transfer deadline looms.
With a rejected £150 million offer already on the table, the Middle Eastern club are considering an improved bid of £200 million. However, Liverpool remain steadfast in their refusal to sell Salah, regardless of the staggering amount being offered.
The Telegraph report sources close to Al-Ittihad believe it may already be too late to complete the deal before the transfer window closes at 10pm on Thursday. Despite this setback, Al-Ittihad are not yet ready to give up on their pursuit of of the Egypt forward.
If they fail to secure his signature this summer, the club's 'plan B' is to come back for him in future transfer windows. Al-Ittihad have been proactive in bolstering their squad during the summer, with high-profile signings Karim Benzema, Fabinho and N'Golo Kante and adding Salah to their attacking lineup would further enhance their chances of defending the Saudi Pro League title.
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While Salah has not publicly addressed Al-Ittihad's interest, his Liverpool teammate Dominik Szoboszlai revealed the 31-year-old has spoken with the dressing room and expressed his desire to remain with the club. Szoboszlai is quoted by the Mirror as saying: "You know it is football, everyone is talking.
"We are really happy that he has stayed. We are of course speaking between each other but he [Salah] wants to stay, he wants to be here and be with us, and he will stay. We are really happy – we need people in the team like him."
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp also weighed in on the situation after Salah opened his account for the season in the Reds' victory against Aston Villa. "I never had any doubt about his commitment to this club," said the German.
"You can't imagine how much fuss the world has made but how calm we are with it. He is our player and wants to play here.
"He didn’t tell me [he wants to stay] but he didn’t have to. He speaks with his training and performances and behaviour. We had meetings this week, and the meetings were not about what we did in the past, it was about what we will do in the future.
"Mo was with the players’ [leadership] committee and had his moments where he was talking and it was nothing like 'by the way, this is only until next week' or whatever. He is completely here and if Dom said [he's told players he wants to stay], fine.
"Mo doesn’t have to come into my office and tell me 'by the way, boss… [I'm not going]'. For me it wasn't a subject for one second, to be honest, besides the questions from the outside."
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