Mohamed Salah's Saudi Arabia transfer 'inevitable'

Stuart Telford

• 2 Nov 2023 12:17 GMT
• 3 min read

Mohamed Salah is certain to leave Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League at the end of the season according to Gabby Agbonlahor.

Salah was the subject of a £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad in the summer, but Liverpool turned it down, persuading the 'Egyptian King' to play on into his seventh season at Anfield.

That has gone to plan for player and club so far, with Salah hitting eight goals and four assists to help lift the Reds up to fourth in the Premier League table, just three points off league leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

READ: How Chelsea squandered Salah and De Bruyne

But the Saudi Pro League remain committed to the idea of making Salah a longer-term face of the league than Cristiano Ronaldo, and Agbonlahor thinks a future move is "inevitable."

'Good business to move Salah on'

"I do see Mo Salah in Saudi Arabia, 100 per cent," the former Aston Villa and England striker told Football Insider's Ewan Kingsbury. "He'll go out there and be the highest-paid player. It's happening and I do see it happening in the summer…

"It's inevitable at this point. As much as [Jurgen] Klopp won't want to lose him, he could well be given all that money to go out and replace him with someone younger.

"We don't know if Salah's legs will start to go in the coming years. I think it would be good business to move him on in 2024."

READ: Mourinho made Mohamed Salah CRY before Chelsea exit

Salah is valued at €61.5m (£53.6m) by FootbalTransfers' in-house algorithm, having enjoyed a highest potential value of €85.6m (£74.6m) two seasons ago, but his signing as a branding exercise for the Saudi Pro League would go far beyond his still impressive on-field abilities.

Whom Liverpool sign in his stead remains to be seen, but they have been linked with Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane and AC Milan's Rafa Leao in recent weeks.