Liverpool are close to agreeing a £35m deal for Roma’s Mohamed Salah, with reports suggesting the Egypt winger could finalise a move to Anfield this week.
Talks have been continuing between the parties for some time and Roma rejected an initial £28m bid from Liverpool a few days ago. However, Jürgen Klopp is determined to acquire Salah and, with the player also believed to be keen on the switch, it appears an agreement is close to being reached following an increased bid from the Merseysiders.
Should the transfer happen it would be a case of second time lucky for Liverpool, who wanted Salah in 2014 only to see him move to Chelsea instead from the Swiss club Basel. He struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge, however, and in 2015 moved to Italy, joining Fiorentina on loan before moving to Roma, also on loan, soon after.
That became a long-term move last August and Salah has subsequently flourished for the Giallorossi. In the 2016-17 Serie A season the 24-year-old scored 15 goals and assisted 13 others in 31 league appearances.
Klopp believes Salah can provide Liverpool with an injection of pace in their attacking front line, something that is all but absent when Sadio Mané is unavailable, as he was for the whole of January after travelling to Gabon to represent Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations and then for the final six weeks or so of the campaign just finished after collecting a knee injury in the 3-1 victory over Everton on 1 April.
Such is Liverpool’s determination to acquire Salah that they are willing to make him the joint most-expensive signing in their history, following on from the £35m spent on purchasing Andy Carroll from Newcastle United in January 2011. Salah is expected to earn in the region of £90,000 a week at Anfield.
Liverpool have already signed one player in the close season – the England Under-20 striker Dominic Solanke, who will arrive on Merseyside on 1 July following the end of his contract with Chelsea – and, with the club having reached the Champions League qualifying stages, Klopp is determined to add to his resources between now and the first leg in August.
As well as targeting Salah, the German is also believed to be keen on acquiring Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Arsenal, Naby Keita from Red Bull Leipzig and the Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk.