LIVERPOOL have kept hold of Mo Salah – for now – while Jadon Sancho will stick around at Manchester United for the foreseeable future.
Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the Premier League breathed a huge sigh of relief as the Saudis’ crazy splurge ended at 10pm when their transfer window slammed shut.
Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq failed with a last-gasp loan move for Old Trafford outcast Sancho because they could not reach a deal over a £50million obligation to buy.
It came as the Reds held off Al-Ittihad who were prepared to bid a staggering £215MILLION for Salah.
But the state-backed club remain determined to land the Egyptian, 31, and will try again in January after seeing a £170m offer turned down this week.
SunSport revealed Al-Ittihad were prepared to offer Salah, who has two years left on his £350,000-a-week contract, a staggering £1.8m-a-week offer — equivalent to £95m a year.
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Boss Klopp feared Prem clubs could lose their stars at the end of the Saudi window and not be able to replace them, with the English window closed since last Friday.
United were prepared to let Sancho leave following his war of words with boss Erik ten Hag after the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.
Ten Hag said he had not named Sancho in his 20-man squad for the Emirates because of his performances in training.
The winger, 23, hit back by claiming his Dutch manager was using him as a “scapegoat”.
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Al-Ettifaq, who are already paying Jordan Henderson £700,000 a week, swooped.
They were unable to get a deal over the line in time for last night’s 10pm deadline but instead landed Everton winger Demarai Gray for £8million on a four-year deal.
Gray, 27, was also involved in a public bust-up with his manager after accusing Sean Dyche of a lack of “respect” towards him.
Elite European clubs will have more cash to spend from the new Champions League pot after Uefa chiefs upped it to £3.78billion per season.
It was confirmed clubs in the group stage will make around £12m more than they currently do.
Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi insisted: “I don’t think there’s any danger from Saudi Arabia. We do not need to talk about things outside Europe.”
Al-Khelaifi – also European Club Association chairman – added: “We have the best club competition in the world, the best coaches, the best clubs and best players.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
