Saudi rule out attempt to sign Salah in January

The Saudi Pro League will not pressure Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool in January. 

In the summer, the Reds' talisman was the subject of an extraordinary £200million bid from champions Al-Ittihad towards the end of the window.

Liverpool rejected the offer but it was believed the Saudi outfit would try to lure the 31-year-old away from Anfield next month.

However, the division's director of football Michael Emenalo has effectively dismissed a second attempt out of "respect" for the Merseyside outfit.

He told Sky Sports: "Salah, like [Lionel] Messi, [Karim] Benzema, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, these are players that when there is a sense of availability for them, we are willing to listen.

"But we also understand that Mo is happy where he is at present and in a historic, wonderful club at Liverpool. We respect that very much and we don't want to come across as putting any pressure on him.

"But if there is any interest to do something, Salah is a player that you want in your league, in any league.

"We respect Liverpool and in this scenario, the initiative to do anything won't come from us. There has to be an aligned interest from all parties involved.

"It's a very personal thing, as a player that I recruited [for Chelsea] and I like. There's nothing I'm saying that is new or ground-breaking.

"If Salah is available, has an interest to come and everything is aligned, I would be incredibly delighted."

Salah forcing a January move is incredibly unlikely, particularly after his and Liverpool's impressive start to the season.

Ahead of tomorrow's match against rivals Manchester United, the Reds sit top of the Premier League table and their Egyptian superstar has 18 goal contributions in 16 matches.