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Gossip: Liverpool 'target Salah, Van Dijk and Lacazette', Man City 'close in on £40m Walker'
The first time Liverpool tried to buy Mohamed Salah was in 2014, but the Egyptian rejected Brendan Rodgers (understandable, perhaps) and instead opted to join Chelsea in a £12m deal. The Reds got lucky. It took Blues boss Jose Mourinho just half a season to decide that the winger couldn’t cut it in the Premier League and he swiftly offloaded him to Fiorentina on loan.
Three years later, Salah is on his way to Anfield for £40m. So Brendan Rodgers had it right all along. If only we’d listened to him.
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The Telegraph says the Reds are set to shell out what would a club record transfer fee for Salah, whose stock has risen rapidly since he moved to Roma on a permanent deal last summer. He’s averaged a goal almost every other game during his two seasons (one on loan) in the Italian capital.
Whether he’s really worth £40m is less important than the fact his signing would airbrush away the embarrassing statistic that Andy Carroll remains Liverpool’s record signing at an amusing £35m (£12m more than they paid for Luiz Suarez in the same transfer window – lolz).
Salah stands to double his salary to £90,000 a week by moving – belatedly – to Merseyside. So it all worked out nicely for everyone in the end (except Brendan).
And the Reds aren’t stopping there. The Express says Jurgen Klopp “remains confident” of luring Virgil van Dijk to Anfield, despite Southampton reportedly putting a £70m price tag on the Dutchman’s head – the kind of silly valuation that normally results in players signing for Manchester City.
Reds officials are also set to meet Alexandre Lacazette’s agents this week in an attempt to “steal a march” on Arsenal and Manchester United in pursuit of the £50m-rated Lyon striker, says the Express. And even if that doesn’t work out, they can all just get drunk and expense it to John W Henry.
There is less encouraging news, however, on Reds target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who the Mirror says will reject Klopp’s advances to sign a new contract at Arsenal.
Man City are “closing in” on the £40m signing of Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker, claims the Star. Pep Guardiola wants the deal done “before the end of the month” and Walker will be pleased with that timeframe because he is reportedly eager to move closer to Sheffield, because he thinks Sheffield is amazing.
Elsewhere, Newcastle, West Brom and Burnley will engage in a “summer scrap” for City midfielder Fabian Delph (Star), Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczeny is set for a £14m move to Italian champions Juventus (Mail) and Gareth Bale has “dealt a blow” to Man Utd’s transfer plans by saying he has “no intention” of leaving Real Madrid (Mirror). Which should end speculation about his future for at least three days.
