Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad reportedly targeted another high-profile Premier League forward after their bid for Liverpool star Mo Salah was rejected.
The league submitted a bid totalling £150 million for the Egyptian winger prior to deadline day in England, with Liverpool promptly turning over the offer down.
Reports claimed that they were set to return with a bid of over £200 million before their window closed on Thursday, but that didn't happen.
But according to Middle East sources (via Daily Mirror), Al Ittihad will return in January - and are confident of securing the deal if the Reds aren't in title contention by the time the new year rolls around.
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However, reports claim that they did identify another alternative in the short-term last week - only to see their advances fail to succeed.
Al Ittihad targeted another Premier League star after Mo Salah failure
According to The Telegraph, Al Ittihad identified Tottenham forward Richarlison as their Salah alternative prior to Thursday's deadline.
Spurs signed Richarlison for a £60 million fee last year, but he failed to score a single Premier League goal in his first campaign.
He is yet to get off the mark in the league this season, although did score in Spurs' Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham last month.
It is claimed that Al Ittihad held talks for the Brazilian international through intermediaries, but ultimately ran out of time to secure a deal before the Saudi Pro League window closed.
Richarlison then started Brazil's 5-1 World Cup qualifier against Bolivia on Saturday.
The forward has failed to hit top form throughout his Spurs career, but manager Ange Postecoglou has backed him to come good this term.
He said: "He played an important part in the way we set up [in the 2-0 win over Manchester United in August].
"It's like anything else, people look at outcomes, and with strikers, it's about goals and nothing else. I'm sure Richy wants to score goals, but what is far more important to me is how he's contributing to our team setup.
"I'm sure the goals will come, but there's no point getting the goals if the team's not performing."
Topics: Liverpool, Saudi Pro League, Mohamed Salah, Premier League, Transfers
Ryan Smart