Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad are reportedly growing pessimistic about their chances of signing Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah this summer.
The Egypt international has been the subject of late and intense interest from Nuno Espirito Santo's team, who failed with a £150m bid on deadline day.
Jurgen Klopp has been unequivocal in his position that Salah is not for sale under any circumstances, while his agent has consistently rubbished talk of an exit too.
However, Al-Ittihad have refused to give up the ghost and are believed to be lining up a world-record £200m bid for the 31-year-old, who is out of contract in 2025.
There are fears that Fenway Sports Group may not be able to resist such an offer for an ageing player with less than two years left to run on his deal, and Saudi teams have until 10pm on Thursday to bring in new players.
Klopp has remained calm throughout the saga, though, and Liverpool fans may now be able to breathe another sigh of relief, as The Telegraph claims that Al-Ittihad fear it is too late to conclude a deal.
Despite the imminent world-record approach, the report adds that Liverpool still have no interest in discussing an exit for Salah, and Al-Ittihad's hopes of a sensational swoop are dwindling.
While Al-Ittihad are expected to concede defeat this time around, the Saudi Pro League champions will be expected to rekindle their interest in January or next summer should Salah see out the season at Anfield.
The former Chelsea and Roma winger has not publicly commented on the saga, but teammate Dominik Szoboszlai has claimed that the Egypt international told him that he wants to continue on Merseyside for a little while longer.
Salah has made another strong start to the season with two goals and two assists from four Premier League games, and he started last weekend's 3-0 success over Aston Villa amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
The 31-year-old tapped home at the back post to conclude the scoring in that match, taking his total for the Reds to 188 goals and 81 assists from 309 matches in all tournaments.
Liverpool have already sold Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Al-Ittihad and Al Ettifaq this summer, while Roberto Firmino is now on the books at Al-Ahli after running down his Reds contract.
Henderson's lucrative switch garnered enormous criticism given his support for the LGBTQ+ community, although he recently stressed that his transfer was for playing reasons rather than financial incentives.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and midfielder Thiago Alcantara are also said to have caught the eye of teams in the Middle East, but neither player pushed for an exit in the summer window.
Liverpool head into the international break sitting third in the Premier League table and are next in action away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 16.
Meanwhile, Salah is currently away with Egypt preparing for Friday's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia and next Tuesday's friendly against Tunisia. body check tags ::
