Saudi Pro League clubs have been instructed to 'start working' on a deal to sign Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, with one team hoping to convince him to join as early as this summer.
Salah, 31, has arguably been Liverpool's best player in the Jurgen Klopp era and was rewarded with a new three-year deal at Anfield last summer, worth a reported £350,000 per week.
He was one of the club's stand-out players last season in a difficult campaign, scoring 30 goals and providing 16 assists in 51 appearances for the Reds in all competitions.
In total, he's scored 186 goals in 305 games for Liverpool since joining from Roma in 2017.
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But he has been linked with a move away from the Merseyside club, who won't compete in the Champions League next season after a fifth-place finish in the Premier League.
Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in Salah, with the club needing to replace Inter Miami bound Lionel Messi.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian has also been linked with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
A number of the world's biggest stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, have already headed to the Gulf nation as part of massive recruitment drive from the Saudi Pro League.
It is not just players at the end of their careers who could be moving to Saudi Arabia, with the likes of Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva also potentially making the switch.
Saudi clubs instructed to sign Salah
Saudi Arabian football official Hafez Al-Medlej has called on the Saudi Pro League to 'start working on the signing' of Liverpool star Salah.
"We must also start working on the signing of Mohamed Salah since he is overwhelmingly popular in the Arab world and in Europe," Al-Medlej, who has held roles within the Asian Football Confederation and Saudi Pro League, told Koura.
"I think Salah still has records to break with Liverpool, so I hope that if he doesn't come now he will in the future."
A recent change to the Pro League saw Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) take full control of four teams; Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
One of those clubs, Al Hilal, is now reportedly interested in taking Salah as one of their marquee players, according to Qatar based news outlet Alkass.net (via Daveockop.com).
Liverpool will be reluctant to let Salah leave ahead of the new season and would demand a huge transfer fee, should he look to force through a move.
But it appears unlikely Salah would want to move to the Saudi Pro League at this stage of his career.
Topics: Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Saudi Pro League, Transfers, Premier League, Football
Rory O'Callaghan