Juventus could capitalise on Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool contract standoff by tabling a mammoth financial package for the attacker with a view to bringing him in on a free transfer, according to a report.
Salah’s current deal at Anfield is due to expire in June 2023, and 90min reports talks remain at an impasse because owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are unwilling to meet the Egyptian’s wage demands – believed to be in excess of £400,000 per week.
The Reds’ highest earner is Virgil van Dijk on around £250,000 per week, and FSG do not want to break their wage structure to such an extent, while Sadio Mane could demand a similar figure as his contract expires at the same time.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the situation has piqued Juventus’ interest, and they could look to tempt the 29-year-old – who will be 31 by the time his Liverpool deal expires – to Turin with a huge financial package.
Juve are said to be ‘working’ on a four-year deal worth £10m net per season for the attacker, with some significant funds freed up following the news that Paulo Dybala will leave in the summer having failed to agree a new contract himself.
The Argentine earned £8.5m per year including bonuses, despite his persistent injury problems. The club is also set to benefit from lower taxes in Italy.
Salah has previously plied his trade in Serie A with both Fiorentina and Roma, but it remains to be seen whether a return to Italy would be his preference if he does walk away from Anfield at the end of his contract.
Both Salah’s manager Jurgen Klopp – on behalf of the club – and the player himself have recently insisted the ball is in the other’s court.
Speaking about the possibility of dressing room unrest as a result of the situation last week, Klopp said: “I don’t have to remind any player – and for sure not Mo – of that. No chance.
“Mo is not a guy for that, not at all. If I don’t line him up [in the team] then his mood goes down. That is possible but [it’s] not against the team or whatever.
“This season everyone is completely committed, we could have some players who don’t play often enough and aren’t in the squad enough and they could create a bad atmosphere. They don’t. They will not. It is a clear commitment for the team for this season and then we will talk about the rest – future, immediate, further.”
He added: “It’s all fine, I don’t know about any kind of reaction or stuff like this. That’s not what I’m concerned about.
“It’s just I think that it’s how it should be in the moment. The decisive parties are in contact and the rest we will see.”
Source: 90min.com
