Liverpool could make millions as club braces for major transfer offers this summer

Liverpool could make millions as club braces for major transfer offers this summer

The Saudi Pro League has swooped for a number of Liverpool players and their interest is likely to be rekindled after the end of the season

Liverpool forwards Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz (Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images )

Often in football, doors are never fully slammed shut but instead left ajar. Such is seemingly the case with Mohamed Salah and interest from the Saudi Pro League.

While Salah recently penned a new two-year contract at Liverpool to extend his commitment to 2027 and his 35th birthday, that hasn't stopped the ambitious Middle East competition from continuing to covet the Egyptian.

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Al-Ahli president Khaled Al-Eissa stated earlier this week Salah was "top of the list" regards future signings when asked who he would like to see move to Saudi Arabia.

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Of course, that won't be any time soon. Liverpool demonstrated their resolve in September 2023 when they turned down an eye-watering £150million offer from Al-Ittihad.

The Saudi Pro League were also linked with a strong interest in Virgil van Dijk before the Liverpool skipper followed Salah in penning a new deal, and there was also an approach for Alisson Becker last summer.

"I never got to the point where I was talking about wages and things like this, it was just interest, but when you hear about the numbers the other players are getting you are a little bit attracted," admitted the goalkeeper in August.

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"That is normal. (But) I never thought about leaving. I had always decided to stay."

Nevertheless, the path to the Saudi Pro League is one that has been well trodden by former Liverpool players in recent years.

Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson moved directly from Anfield to the Middle East in 2023 while Sadio Mane and Gini Wijnaldum took a more circuitous route. All bar Henderson remain in Saudi Arabia, with Firmino having won the AFC Champions League Elite final with Al-Ahli last weekend.

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And while Salah, Van Dijk and Alisson have been clear their immediate intentions amid Saudi interest, that won't stop clubs from the league from relentlessly attempting to lure others way from Arne Slot's squad this summer.

Chief among those is Darwin Nunez, whose time at Liverpool appears to be drawing to a close after a frustrating campaign in which, for the third season in succession, he has barely featured during the final months.

The Saudi Pro League enquired about the possibility of signing Nunez in January but were given little encouragement from Liverpool, who wanted to keep Slot's squad together as they continued at the time to push for honours on four fronts.

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The Reds, though, are likely to be more receptive in the summer, with Al-Hilal believed ready to make a concerted effort to sign Nunez as soon as the transfer window opens in June 1 in order to have the player available for the FIFA Club World Cup.

And reports out of Saudi Arabia this week indicated Al-Hilal are also interested in Luis Diaz. Liverpool will sit down with the Colombian and his representatives at the end of the season to discuss future plans, with Diaz about to enter the last two years of his current deal.

Unlike in 2023, when the surprise departures of Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia left Liverpool scrambling for midfield reinforcements deep into the transfer window, any early departures - particularly that of Nunez, who would likely command a fee of £50million-plus - would give the Reds ample time to map out their own recruitment ahead of the start of pre-season in early July.

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Clearly, the Saudi Pro League is here to stay as a consideration in the transfer market. And while not Salah, it appears eyes from the Middle East are continuing to look enviously at the Liverpool squad.

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