Mohamed Salah ‘closer than ever’ to Liverpool exit as stunning price emerges and ‘absolutely scary’ decline is exposed | OneFootball

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is currently in the final months of his ‘long goodbye’ at Anfield with his exit described by a top source as ‘increasingly likely’ this summer, and with one of the club’s most respected former stars acknowledging the Egyptian’s sad and painful decline as a leading force this season.

When Liverpool paid Roma £36.9m for Salah in the summer of 2017, few would have predicted the enormous success he had been. Some nine years and eight major honours later, not to mention an incredible goals tally that has seen the player fire home a bountiful 252 goals for the Reds, the 33-year-old’s place in Anfield folklore is carved in the record books for all eternity.

However, after signing the largest ever contract in the club’s history last summer, worth a staggering £400,000 a week, Salah’s numbers have dropped off alarmingly this season.

And with just seven goals to his name so far, the iconic star is well on track to easily record his poorest ever campaign in club colours.

As a result, speculation over a summer exit at Anfield have intensified in recent weeks and our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, reported earlier this month that Salah was ‘deep in discussions’ over a move to Saudi Arabia, where he is likely to be handed a prominent ambassadorial role as well as the chance to own a stake in one of their illustrious Pro-League clubs.

Now reports of his impending exit at Anfield have been talked up by BBC Sport, who feel that Salah is now beginning his long goodbye at Anfield and that his exit is looking ‘increasingly likely’ at the season’s end.

Having now gone a staggering 10 Premier League games since his last goal for the Reds in the competition, the outlet claims talks over his exit are due to gather pace and there is now ‘genuine interest’ and a belief from sides in both Saudi Arabia and the USA that signing Salah this summer is a real possibility.

With just a year left on his deal, it’s understood Liverpool will only seek a relatively modest £20m to £25m fee for his services, while the club will also benefit from the huge £20.8m a year they will save in his wages next season, effectively giving them close to a £45m kitty just by saying goodbye and with the player now rated as ‘closer than ever’ to departing Anfield.

Pundit left upset by Mo Salah’s sharp decline at Liverpool

If and when Liverpool announce Salah’s departure remains to be seen, though the common perception would be that it would be announced in plenty of time to allow supporters as many opportunities as possible to bid their hero a deserved and wholehearted farewell.

And while Liverpool are still involved in both the Champions League and Premier League, Salah could have anywhere between just 13 and 21 games left in club colours depending on how the rest of the season pans out.

In the meantime, and while the Premier League title remains as good as out of reach, Salah will hope to win one more major honour with the Reds before he bids goodbye for good.

However, former Reds star Steve Nicol has been left flabbergasted by the star’s fall from grace this season, particularly when you consider the incredible heights the player reached last season.

“I know that we’re employed here because we played and we’ve seen almost everything. I’ve never seen this. I’ve never seen this,” Nicol responded on ESPN when asked about the 33-year-old’s decline.

“How somebody can go from the top of the mountain and just disappear so quickly is absolutely scary. I’ve never seen it before, ever! I’ve no idea. All of the above could be true. So lack of confidence and an irreversible decline.

“It’s hard to argue that those aren’t two of the problems. I mean, seriously, go figure. I don’t think he could answer it. If you actually spoke to Mo Salah himself and asked him, he wouldn’t be able to tell you, right? I bet he wouldn’t.”

Liverpool latest: £52.5m buyback deal; PSG superstar to replace Salah?

Meanwhile, Liverpool have been urged to break the bank to sign a world-class PSG superstar as a replacement for Salah, and with a controversial broadcaster revealing the surprise move he has heard the Egyptian superstar will now be making this summer.

If you missed the big news last week, we exclusively revealed that one of Liverpool’s big summer signings is now ‘seriously considering’ requesting a loan exit after growing increasingly frustrated with the role he’s been given.

In more exclusive news, this time that emerged from our sources on Monday, TEAMtalk can reveal that the Reds are intensifying their assessment over a possible summer reunion for a star they have a clause to re-sign at £52.2m, while the Reds also determined to seal a crucial second deal.

Sources can also reveal that Liverpool do intend to sign a new left-back this summer, and having named the £65m-rated Bundesliga star they have in their sights to come in this summer and battle Milos Kerkez for a starting berth.