Summary Journalist Ben Jacobs has dropped a claim on the likelihood of Mohamed Salah's potential move to Saudi Arabia. Liverpool feel confident that the chapter on Salah's departure is closed and that the interest from Al-Ittihad will diminish until at least the January transfer window.
Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah could still move to Saudi Arabia this summer and another update has emerged regarding his future, courtesy of journalist Ben Jacobs.
Is Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool?
The Egyptian superstar has been an incredible signing for the Reds since arriving from Roma back in 2017, breaking endless records and proving to be one of the standout players in the Premier League.
Few individuals have been more important for Liverpool during the Jurgen Klopp era, and the hope is that he remains at Anfield for many years to come. His current deal only has two years remaining on it, however, and he has been strongly linked with a move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad.
They have already seen a monstrous bid of £150m for Salah turned down by the Reds, but it could be that they table an even higher offer as they look to make him one of the league's poster boys.
What's the latest on Mohamed Salah's Liverpool future?
Speaking to GiveMeSport, however, Jacobs claimed that Salah is now likely to stay at Liverpool beyond the end of the Saudi transfer window, which ends in mid-September, due to the club not having a chance to replace him now:
"The expectation is that Al-Ittihad are not going to give up. The key question is whether they will continue to bid for optics or whether they genuinely believe that they can change Liverpool's mind.
"The feeling from those close to Al-Ittihad is that if the European window closes, the chapter on Salah will be shut because, ultimately, Liverpool wouldn't have any time to move in the market or find a replacement.
"But the reality is Liverpool haven't got that time anyway, and their transfer business is seemingly closed as far as incomings [after Ryan Gravenberch]. So, a very amicable conversation took place between dealmakers and Mike Gordon, and Liverpool think that the chapter is closed."
This is clearly a boost for Liverpool, suggesting that Al-Ittihad's interest could now go away until at least the January transfer window, which will be a relief to Reds supporters.
There is still a chance that that could change, of course, but the Merseysiders simply cannot afford to lose Salah in the coming days, given the enormous impact it would likely have on their season, not least their top-four hopes in the Premier League.
Had Liverpool been afforded some time to find a world-class replacement, there is an argument to say that a £200m bid could be accepted, for example, but this interest has arrived too late in the day for that to happen.
Next summer feels like a far more likely and logical time for Salah's legendary Reds career to reach its conclusion, at which point he will only have 12 months left on his contract.
The club could still receive a similar amount of money at that point, allowing Klopp to do a further rebuild of his squad and sign a magnificent successor to one of the greatest players in the history of the club.
