Mo Salah transfer 'twist' as Jurgen Klopp reason given for potential Liverpool summer exit

Mohamed Salah's potential move to the Saudi Pro League could be accelerated by Jurgen Klopp's decision to leave Liverpool this summer, according to reports.

Salah is among three Liverpool stars who have recently entered the final 18 months of their respective contracts, joining defenders Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The club are thought to be in talks with all three and Klopp insisted last week that 'no one has to worry' about their futures.

Unlike Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, Salah's future at Anfield was already uncertain with Liverpool rejecting a late £150million bid from Al Ittihad in the summer. The Egyptian will turn 32 in June and journalist Ben Jacobs believes the departure of Klopp could be the catalyst to his Saudi move.

“I think there's more of a chance of him going now that Jurgen Klopp will leave because it's a new era so players - Virgil van Dijk half hinted at it and the backtracked  - are going to start wondering whether now is the time,” Jacobs told talkSPORT. “Salah is at a crossroads and Liverpool are at a crossroads.

“If Klopp stayed, I would have predicted he'd go to Saudi in 2025 and do one more season in Europe with Liverpool. But Klopp going now might mean, especially if there’s silverware, Salah goes out on a high. The only twist from the Saudi perspective is it won’t be Al Ittihad, because they got preference for Salah because they are the Saudi champions and were competing in the Club World Cup. So you want him to be the poster boy.

“Now they're seventh in the Saudi Pro League, Al Hilal are seemingly cruising to the title so I think that the offer will now come from Al Hilal, arguably the biggest club, or one of them anyway, in Asia. But the offer will still be around the same number and that will be really difficult for Liverpool to reject, especially if a new manager is thinking ‘I want the budget to revamp’.”

Salah and Liverpool will hope to end Klopp's reign at Anfield on a high and are on course to do so, with Wednesday's excellent 4-1 win at Chelsea putting them five points clear at the top of the Premier League. The Reds also remain in the FA Cup and Europa League, while they face Chelsea again in the Carabao Cup final.