Al-Ittihad have entered talks with Liverpool great Mohamed Salah.

The Financial Times says the striker’s destination is clear: the 33-year-old is aiming for the Saudi Pro League and negotiations with Al-Ittihad are already underway to explore a potential deal.

Liverpool are already preparing for Salah’s departure and scouting possible replacements. The Egyptian is expecting an offer “comparable to the exceptional terms given to Cristiano Ronaldo . “

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation is determined to bring Salah to the league. A first draft contract includes a package consisting of an exorbitant salary, “including future opportunities to acquire club shares and a long-term agreement whereby Salah will act as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia”.

Although negotiations with Al-Ittihad are already underway, the league is reportedly still undecided on which club Salah will join.

League officials are currently holding intensive talks with the country’s top clubs. Besides Al-Ittihad, who are looking to replace Karim Benzema (38), who moved to Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr is also said to be among the favourites to sign Salah.

The Times says Villa could face a hefty fine for breaching UEFA’s financial rules for the second consecutive year. Specifically, the Villans have exceeded the limits on squad costs.

Clubs that spend more than 70 per cent of their income on player salaries, transfers, and agents are penalised.

Back in the summer, the Birmingham club was fined €6m for exceeding the limit, which at the time was even set at 80 per cent, in 2024. The limit was lowered further for the following year.

According to The Times, it was foreseeable that Villa would be unable to comply, even though the club will adhere to the Premier League ‘s PSR rules . This is considerably easier, however, as the club can book the equivalent of €64m, received from the sale of its women’s team to its parent company, as revenue.

UEFA, however, does not recognize such quasi-internal accounting practices.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot was delighted with the goalscoring performance of Dominik Szoboszlai in their FA Cup fourth round win against Brighton.

The Reds won 3-0 on Saturday, with Szoboszlai outstanding on the day.

Slot said afterwards: “I think Dominik is a great example of the model we are using here at this club. We sign young players from another league – in this situation that was Leipzig, where he was already known for being a player that was really physical.

“But I think it’s fair for me to say that the player that we brought in was already good but where he is now, I think much better than where he was two-and-a-half years ago.

“That is what you get if you sign young players and you give them a bit of time and you let them play a lot. That’s why I also think that that trajectory he’s been through is the same trajectory we can expect from other young players we have that we’ve signed from other leagues.”

On Szoboszlai being a potential future club captain, Slot also said: “Yes, but he’s still young. I think he has a lot of attributes already, especially when it comes to leading by example. But there’s still a step to make in terms of leadership, being vocal, being a voice in the dressing room if I compare him to Virgil (van Dijk), which is completely normal because Virgil is 34 and has seen probably James Milner or Jordan Henderson and these players.

“So it’s really good for Dominik that he sees Virgil as well. That would be a next step for him, to be as vocal and as loud as Virgil is. That comes with time, I think, but for all the other things, he has a lot to become a very influential player for Liverpool and you could call that a leader.”