Mo Salah bombshell drops as Liverpool linked with centre-back Newcastle sold for £20m | OneFootball

Liverpool are in danger of losing Mohamed Salah at the end of the season, sources have told TEAMtalk, as the defending Premier League champions’ search for a new centre-back has seen them linked with former Newcastle United star Lloyd Kelly.

Mo Salah signed a new deal with Liverpool in April 2025 and is under contract at the Merseyside club until the summer of 2027. The Egyptian forward fell out with Liverpool manager Arne Slot earlier this season, but the two have made up now.

Mo Salah could leave Liverpool THIS summer

However, sources have told us that there is a distinct possibility that Salah could leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has reported that the Saudi Pro League plans to push ahead with their plans to land Mo Salah this summer.

Al‑Ittihad are the main Saudi Arabian club in contention for Salah, but we understand that Al‑Nassr are also in the race, especially as Cristiano Ronaldo could leave.

The Saudi Pro League wants any deal for Mo Salah done early in the summer transfer window.

While Liverpool are publicly insistent that Mo Salah will not leave, sources have told us that, privately, the club are preparing for his departure and are already looking at potential replacements for the former Chelsea and AS Roma attacker.

Lloyd Kelly linked with Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot will have Jeremy Jacquet in his squad for next season, with Giovanni Leoni also set to return to action for the 2026/27 campaign after he recovers fully from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Virgil van Dijk remains a key player at the heart of the Liverpool defence, but Ibrahima Konate is out of contract at the end of the season and Joe Gomez is injury-prone.

Liverpool have been linked with a number of centre-backs in recent weeks, including former Leeds United star Charlie Cresswell, and now an ex-Newcastle United man is said to have caught their attention.

According to Italian journalist Mirko Di Natale on X at 9:50am on February 13, 2026, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are the Premier League clubs to ‘watch out for’ regarding Lloyd Kelly.

Kelly spent the second half of last season on loan at Juventus from Newcastle before the deal was made permanent for £20million (€23m, $27.2m) in the summer of 2025.

According to Di Natale, Kelly, who is primarily a centre-back but can also operate as a left-back, is valued at up to €50m (£43.5m, $59.3m) now.

The journalist posted on X: “The spotlight on Lloyd #Kelly could turn on in the summer. #Juve, today, is not considering the idea of letting him go.

“But watch out for the Premier big guns: #Chelsea, #Liverpool, and #Tottenham will be looking for a central defender.

“Valuation? Paid 17.5mln plus bonuses, his value now oscillates between 40 and 50mln €. More than double what it was a year ago.”

Liverpool ‘can afford’ Yan Diomande

Bild journalist Christian Falk has reported that Liverpool are able to pay €100million (£87m, $118.7m) for Yan Diomande.

Sources have told us that Liverpool are among the clubs that are keen on Diomande, who is one of the best players at RB Leipzig and has established himself as one of the best young wingers in Europe.

Falk wrote on his website, CF Bayern Insider: “It is TRUE: Yan Diomande is going to cost a lot of money to sign this summer.

“The €100m [£87.1m] asking price was established by RB Leipzig chief Oliver Mintzlaff.

“We saw him playing against Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal. He’s good, he’s really good.

“However, he’s still got some developmental work to do, and so €100m will be too much for Bayern this summer.

“That said, it’s a price that Premier League clubs can of course afford to pay.

“I heard that Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested and can afford him.

“Bayern can’t afford Diomande at this point because, as we’ve reported before at Bayern Insider, Luis Diaz is the established first-choice on the left wing.

“Bayern Munich don’t need a ‘Plan A’, they need a ‘Plan B’; so €100m for a Plan B behind Diaz is just too much money.

“At the moment – and I’m genuinely sorry, Bayern fans, as I’d love to see him in Munich – he needs time to develop.

“He’s clearly got a lot of potential, as was clear even in this one match. But it’s just not enough to go on to commit to such a huge fee at this point in time.”