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The Liverpool Echo are now reporting that Liverpool are out on Mohamed Salah, and that Chelsea are on the verge of hijacking the deal. According to their report, Chelsea have told the Swiss club that they'll meet their valuation for the player, and Liverpool will now have to turn its attention to other targets:
Liverpool value the player at around the £8 million mark but Basel have upped their asking price for Salah to around £16 million.
Chelsea, whose transfer kitty has been fuelled by the £37million sale of Juan Mata to Manchester United, have informed Basel they are willing to pay that figure.
Liverpool have no intention of matching that bid so if Salah accepts the opportunity to join Chelsea he will be London bound and Reds boss Brendan Rodgers will turn his attention to other targets.
At the money being discussed, this deal seems a bit silly. Salah is a nice player, and certainly has the sort of upside to suggest he'd be a good buy, but £16 million for the 21-year old with the potential alternatives we have available just seems ridiculous to me. I'd rather see the club simply recall Victor Moses, even though he's shown little to nothing this season to justify a return.
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Based on the 10-12 times I've seen the player play, I do like what he brings to the table. I'd be happy with a relatively low cost move, and more than a little entertained by the reaction from Liverpool's fans. If the numbers The Echo is reporting are correct though, yikes.