Liverpool have reportedly enquired about Barcelona duo Ansu Fati and Abde Ezalzouli as the Premier League giants look to cover all the bases in case of Mo Salah’s potential departure to Saudi Arabia.
As sources go, Jan Aage Fjortoft may be more HP than David Ornstein. But as the former Norway international turned pundit took to Twitter on Wednesday morning, claiming to have an inside track on the reports suggesting that Mo Salah could swap Liverpool for Al-Ittihad, his comments will still have sent a shiver down the spine of some.
“I understand it’s likely that Salah will leave Liverpool this week,” Fjortoft writes. “I understand it’s likely that Salah will leave Liverpool this week.
“The money offered to player and club is just unbelievable.”
Whether there is any truth to Fjortoft’s rather sensational claims remains to be seen. But Liverpool have already discovered this summer that the pulling power of Saudi Arabia can be difficult to withstand; Fabinho departing and Jordan Henderson picking up an eye-watering £700,000 a week salary at Al-Ettifaq.
Mo Salah almost impossible to replace for Liverpool
Salah, of course, is a different story. If Fabinho and Henderson were past their best and walking on the wrong side of the hill, Salah remains Liverpool’s talisman. Their most reliable goalscorer. And their best chance of securing a return to the top four.
What’s more, finding a replacement – at such a late stage in the window – would be all-but impossible. There is, after all, only a handful of footballers on the planet who belong at the same level as Liverpool’s ‘Egyptian King’, and none of those are likely to be available for transfer.
According to reports in Spain, however, Liverpool are keeping tabs on Barcelona duo Ansu Fati and Abde Ezalzouli should a worst-case scenario occur. Liverpool have reportedly informed the La Liga champions of their interest.
Fati is the more proven, and the more naturally talented, of the two. Barcelona may be willing to let him leave on loan, according to Fabrizio Romano, with Tottenham Hotspur in talks. While a series of injuries have hindered Fati’s progress, it should not be forgotten that the silky Spain international exploded onto the scene at Barcelona while breaking a whole host of records. There is a reason why they handed him Lionel Messi’s iconic number ten shirt.
As for Abde, the Moroccon’s best performances have come out on loan. He shone at Osasuna in 2022/23, with Mundo Deportivo reporting that his price-tag has soared to £25 million.
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