Mohamed Salah's future has taken another twist, with reports in Turkey claiming the Egyptian forward has agreed a move to Al Ittihad while a French outlet says Trabzonspor are attempting to hijack the deal.
Istanbul-based Sabah claims Salah has agreed a £18.5m-per-season contract with the Saudi Pro League side, who are captained by his former Liverpool team-mate Fabinho. Some sources in Egypt have dismissed the story as "nonsense".
Agent stresses no decision reached
Salah left Liverpool in May and was linked with Besiktas earlier in the transfer window, but that move failed to materialise. His agent, Ramy Abbas, has repeatedly stressed that no decision has been reached whenever fresh claims of an agreement being in place have surfaced.
French outlet Foot Mercato, meanwhile, has suggested Salah could sign for Trabzonspor, with negotiations said to have taken place and a "hijacking" reportedly underway. A definitive answer on Salah's next destination is expected soon, with both the Turkish and Saudi Arabian campaigns set to get underway in less than a fortnight.
Salah's criticism and Liverpool's response
At the end of last season, Salah publicly criticised Arne Slot's tactical philosophy, insisting Liverpool needed to adopt a more intense approach. That desire appears to have been addressed, with one of the primary motivations behind Liverpool replacing Slot with Andoni Iraola being the Spaniard's high-intensity style of football.
Robbie Fowler, who has been accompanying the Reds on their US tour this week, told Liverpool.com he is already noticing encouraging signs. "I mean, we're Liverpool. Every season, you've got to be ambitious and say we're going to win the league. Whether you do that or not, that's a different matter," Fowler said.
"You've got to remember we are Liverpool. Let's be big, let's be bold, let's be ambitious. We're in to win the league. Okay, it's going to be tough, but we've got to have that attitude because you're playing (for) this badge. Good start, the intensity and the levels were probably missing last year."
"I don't want to speak bad of Arne, but I think there was a point where we're watching Liverpool and it was fairly evident that something needed to happen in terms of the team being proactive and getting on the front foot. I think the fans need that to give them a little bit of a lift as well. We've seen many times in the past how those supporters can drag that team, and if you've got that front foot defending and attacking football team, it's fairly easy for the support to get behind."
