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It feels as though fresh speculation surrounding Mohamed Salah's future is always just around the corner, with Saudi Arabia the location that is most often mooted as his next destination.
Liverpool rejected a mammoth bid for the Egyptian from Al-Ittihad two years ago, and links with a move to the Gulf state have persisted ever since. Now, Everton's former CEO, Keith Wyness, has suggested that Salah will leave Liverpool sooner rather than later.
He told Football Insider: “It’s definitely that sort of £150M level (in terms of the fee that Salah could command), if not more, because he’s going to be doing a lot of ads.
“I think Salah is such an important figure throughout the whole Middle East, not only in Egypt and Saudi, but he would be a dramatic figure for them. He’s so well thought of; he’s a very powerful figure commercially.
“As a tourist ambassador as well as other things, he would certainly be commanding £150M if not more. When I’ve been in Saudi Arabia, the way that Salah is revered is incredible.
"It’s even more so in Egypt, when I’ve seen that as well. So, he has that opportunity.
“They’ve left the offer open but he’ll have to go fairly soon because it’s best to go when you’re at the top. They might be thinking okay, it’s time to make a move while we’ve still got some good years in our legs and show some spectacular things.
“Ronaldo has knocked in some amazing numbers since he’s been in Saudi and he’s still banging goals in and some really quality goals as well.
"I think Salah wants to do the same, have some good years down there, so I would expect the move sooner than later.”
Realistically, Salah is going nowhere any time soon – the earliest he would realistically leave Liverpool is next summer, and that will only be if the Reds want to let him go. They must not sell him in January.
He signed a bumper two-year contract earlier this year, tying him to Liverpool until 2027, and he remains a key player, despite his slow start to the season.
He is also the only right-winger in the squad, so there is fat chance of Liverpool allowing him to leave in January, when Jeremie Frimpong would be his most likely replacement in the team.
Frimpong has plenty of qualities, but he is not ready to fill Salah's boots – and probably never will be.
Simply, Liverpool will dictate when Salah leaves – and it won't be any time soon unless something drastic happens.
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