Juventus cannot afford Salah

Juventus were reported to be sending scouts to watch Liverpool take on Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield last week, hoping to observe first-hand the qualities of Christian Eriksen and Son Hueng-min of Spurs, as well as Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.

However, their actual mission target was indeed Eriksen, according to Simon Hughes, formerly a journalist at the Independent, now working for The Athletic. The Danish international is approaching the end of his contract and he will be free to talk to clubs outside England at the turn of the year, which means Juventus, or any other potential suitor for that matter, will be able to pre-arrange a free transfer for the attacking midfielder for next summer.

As for Salah, Hughes says a Juventus official was asked at the game what Liverpool player would they like to sign. The response was clear – they cannot afford one. Given the stellar rise of the Egyptian since his arrival to Anfield in 2017, it is quite reasonable to assume it would take an offer eclipsing by far the world-record fee Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar two years ago for the Champions League holders to even consider a deal of that kind for their arguably biggest star.