Jurgen Klopp Insists There Were No Concerns Over Mohamed Salah’s Focus Ahead of Liverpool vs. Aston Villa

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted there were no concerns over in-demand Mohamed Salah’s focus in putting together his lineup for Sunday’s match against Aston Villa. Salah is part of the side to take on Villa at Anfield, with Klopp making three changes as Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez come in.

The Egyptian international has been the subject of a verbal £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad, which was rejected on Thursday night. Despite this, Klopp has said he had no need to consider Salah’s focus on the game.

Klopp’s Response to Salah Transfer Speculation

“I didn’t have to, I didn’t have to,” a perplexed Klopp replied when asked if he had to consider Salah’s focus on the game. “This was a media story. It never came through. I have a big desk in my office, a lot of papers are on that, I have a laptop, iPad, everything that you need: none of them were busy with any of this news.”

Klopp went on to say that he had a lot of things to do and that’s why he never thought about the transfer speculation. He added that Salah had a completely normal, good training week and there was nothing from his point of view to think about.

Will Al-Ittihad Make Another Bid?

The transfer window closes for Saudi Pro League clubs on September 7, with suggestions in the media that the state-owned Al-Ittihad could return with an improved bid. For what it’s worth, Salah was been left out of the Egypt squad to play Ethiopia in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 8.

Egypt are already qualified for the tournament, with the 31-year-old instead joining his national team for their friendly against Tunisia on September 12.

Conclusion

Despite the transfer speculation surrounding Mohamed Salah, Jurgen Klopp has insisted there were no concerns over his focus ahead of Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa. With five days left of the Saudi transfer window, it remains to be seen if Al-Ittihad will make another bid for the Egyptian international.