Arsenal legend slams latest transfer news coming out of Liverpool

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has been critical of Al-Ittihad for their efforts to sign Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.

The Saudi outfit have publicly declared their interest in signing Salah and Liverpool recently turned down a bid of £150m for their prize asset on deadline day.

But Al-Ittihad remain undeterred and reports suggest that they are lining up a second bid for the Egyptian which would exceed the world record fee paid for Neymar back in 2017.

The offer is believed to be in the region of £215m, according to the Daily Mail. If the transfer is successful Salah would link up with Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and former World Cup winner N’Golo Kante and former team mate Fabinho.

However, their pursuit of Salah has prompted criticism from pundit Wright who claims Al-Ittihad are being disrespectful to Liverpool.

Speaking on the Kelly and Wright show, the pundit said: “To come in for a player of that calibre, of that level, you’re not going to let him go at this stage of the window but it’s almost disrespectful to him.”

Wright added: “If you're going to do that, then do it in time because you’re trying to buy him. Now he’s just unsettled.”

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation website states that 7 September is the cut off point for Saudi clubs to register new players. 

This means teams in the division have six extra days to sign players in comparison to English clubs who are now unable to make any moves until January, unless they are free agents.

In an earlier interview Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claimed it gives his side an unfair disadvantage.

 He said: “The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment. Pretty much the worst thing, I think, is the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe, that’s not helpful.

“UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that. But in the end, at this moment, I don’t know exactly what will happen. It’s already influential for us, but we will have to learn to deal with it.”