Idea of signing Liverpool star has ‘grown in recent days’ – Could become club’s ‘new franchise player’

Barcelona are looking at a possible deal for Liverpool star Mohamed Salah this summer as an alternative to Erling Haaland.

That’s according to Sport, who say Salah’s name is ‘on the table’ as one of the options if they cannot get the Norwegian.

The newspaper explains that Barcelona are hard at work assembling their squad for next season, and while their delicate economic situation means there is not a lot of wiggle room, they are not giving up the idea of big transfers.

Haaland is at the top of that list, but his signing would be very complicated, to say the least, and so they have ‘alternatives’ in mind. One of these is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, whose name has ‘grown in recent days’.

He is better positioned than Robert Lewandowski, another player Barcelona are looking at, as there is a feeling he ticks more boxes.

Not only would the Liverpool man be a ‘guaranteed replacement’ for Ousmane Dembele, but he could also become Barcelona’s ‘new franchise player’.

A few weeks ago, the transfer looked impossible, but that has changed, and Barca are ‘monitoring’ the ongoing contract negotiations with Liverpool.

Salah’s deal expires in 2023, and if those talks fail, the Reds will try to secure a deal at the end of this season and ‘take advantage’ of the situation rather that lose Salah on a free.

At the moment, the two parties are ‘far from reaching an agreement’, and so Barcelona have not ruled out a deal if certain conditions are met.