Mohamed Salah’s chances of leaving Liverpool in the January transfer window could be more likely for one key reason, according to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness.
The 33-year-old’s future at Anfield continues to be a major talking point, even though much of his current focus is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt.
Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness claimed that Brendan Rodgers’ move to Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah could accelerate Salah’s move there:
“Well, interesting news now is that Brendan Rodgers has gone to Saudi with one of the clubs I know very well. James Bisgrove, the former Rangers CEO, is the CEO at Al-Qadsiah. They’re really funded and run by Aramco, the world’s biggest company.
“Fascinating situation. And James has done a superb job, I’ve got to say. Now, although Brendan Rodgers never had Salah when he was at Liverpool. I think there was about two seasons that they didn’t overlap. Nevertheless, he is the quality of manager that would be a big signal.
“And I think that’s something that could actually speed things up for a January signing. Again, as I say, I think some of Salah’s comments were a little bit premeditated. His agent’s very clever. Ramy Abbas Issa is well known and a very good operator. And so if they knew that something like Brendan was coming down there.
“So they’ve got a top quality manager who knows how to handle Premier League players and has done it very successfully, and Liverpool players obviously, then I think that is another condition that would point to something happening in January. I think there’s been a lot of talk, this has been going on for the last few seasons, so it won’t be hard to resurrect offers that everybody knows are acceptable.
“So I think we could see something happening in January. But of course, it could easily slip until the summer. It depends what both parties want and what makes sense. But there will definitely be something happening either in January or in the summer, that’s for sure.”
Would Salah moving to Saudi Arabia be a waste?
Salah may have struggled this season, but he is still far too good to be wasting time in the autumn of his career in the Saudi Pro League.
The Liverpool legend is fit enough and clearly talented enough to play at a high level for another five years, so if he does leave in January, he must remain in Europe.
But Salah staying at Liverpool until at least the end of the season is still easily the best outcome, before a decision is made by both him and the club next summer.
At that point, the Reds could cash in on him, rather than losing him for free in 2027, but it may be that they are happy to keep him until that point.
