Stan Collymore has urged Liverpool to hold out for a world record fee for Mo Salah, although he named a figure at which he feels the Reds would have to cash in on the Egyptian.
The 31-year-old has been the subject of interest from Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad, who are reportedly willing to offer him a gargantuan weekly wage of £1.5m to bring him to the Middle East (Sky Sports).
His tally of 187 goals puts him fifth in LFC’s all-time scoring charts (lfchistory.net), which contextualises just how special a player he’s been for Jurgen Klopp’s side, hence why Collymore is imploring his former club to demand an unprecedented transfer fee for our number 11.
Speaking to CaughtOffside, the 52-year-old said: “The reality is, Liverpool aren’t in the same financial bracket as the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, so if Al-Ittihad, or any other club, make them an offer, and don’t get me wrong, it’ll have to be a mega offer, probably a world-record, then I can see them accepting because they just can’t afford to say no to something like £300 million.
“I don’t see Salah as a disruptive type of player, but again, if reports he’s being offered £1,500,000-per week are to be believed, there is no way he’s turning his back on that. Who would?
“But it isn’t just the money on offer that will appeal to Salah. There’s a huge cultural aspect to this touted move. He’s a strict Muslim and let’s be honest, he isn’t a born n’ bred Scouser.
“Yes, he will go down as a Liverpool legend but he’s a career professional that has already had several high-profile transfers in his time so why wouldn’t he move to the Middle East?
“For me, it’s quite simple. If I’m Liverpool, I am holding firm and saying to Al-Ittihad ‘If you really want to sign Salah, you’ll need to offer £300 million, and if you do that, we’ll fly him to Jeddah ourselves’.”
£300m is massive money for any club to reap from selling just one player, and such an influx could provide the funds for several additions, so you can see why Collymore feels an offer of that amount would be too attractive for Liverpool to turn down.
However, Mo Salah is not just any old player. He’s needed just six years at Anfield to make himself one of the greatest to ever pull on the iconic red shirt, and the timing of Al-Ittihad’s interest couldn’t be worse from our perspective.
There’s only one week remaining in the summer transfer window, so if LFC were to do the unthinkable and cash in on the 31-year-old, who of a similar quality could they realistically seek to bring in between now and 11pm next Friday?
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Having scored 23 or more goals in each of his six full seasons for Liverpool (Transfermarkt), Salah is consistency personified, and the top-up to the transfer kitty from selling him would be negated by how much harder the team would find it to come anywhere close to challenging for major silverware.
The time will come when the Egyptian legend and the Reds will have to part ways, but that time certainly isn’t now. Not for £300m, not for £1bn, not for any money the Saudi champions might want to throw at us.
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Ridiculous opinion.
If we’re offered £300m, or even £1bn, we bite their hand off and take it, and say ‘Thanks for everything Mo, but good luck on your new adventures’
It doesn’t matter if there’s only a week left in the transfer window.
It doesn’t matter if we are unable to replace him adequately in that time (or ever).
But it would be the height of financial malfeasance to say not to that kind of money for a player on the wrong side of 30, and who shall never see the kind of days that made him a legend – not for us; not for them; not for anyone.
Take the money.
Do your best to find a replacement in this window and if not, hold your powder until the January window and make do with what we have.
Totally agree with you Stan, but we need this guy. He sets the tempo on the pitch when he’s playing. Replacing him will be a very very big challenge