Barcelona hopeful of signing 28-goal contract rebel; ready to pay £58m

Liverpool is in real danger of losing Mohamed Salah, with the star striker's camp unresponsive to Liverpool's offer of a new deal. Barcelona is being touted as potentially his next destination, with the Catalan club said to be ready to forge a deal this summer, if they can agree a reasonable fee.

The Reds have no intention of letting Salah, who has scored 28 goals in all competitions this season, leave this summer, and are hopeful that a new deal can be agreed sooner rather than later. Jurgen Klopp recently suggested that the ball was in the Egypt international's court and that the club cannot do anything more unless they get a clear picture on his stance.

According to Sport, there have been no negotiations between Salah's agents and the club in recent weeks. The Egyptian is reportedly ready to seek pastures new if Liverpool do not return with a much improved offer in the coming months.

The 29-year-old, who has been Liverpool's top scorer every year since the 2017/18 season, wants to be among the highest paid players in the English Premier League. Currently, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid player in the league at £510,000-a-week, and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne is second on the list at £400,000-a-week.

Barcelona remain confident that a deal can be agreed if Liverpool come to the table with a reasonable demand in terms of a transfer fee. The Anfield outfit is expected to demand close to £85 million despite Salah having just one year left on his contract, which is likely to be too hefty for Barcelona owing to their ongoing financial problems.

The Catalan giants are said to be willing to pay around £58 million to the English club, and they are confident they can cover the Egyptian winger's wages over a long-term deal. Liverpool, however, are unlikely to entertain the idea of losing their top star in the summer, with Klopp keen to retain the core of his squad.

Liverpool are on course to potentially win a historic quadruple this year after they closed to within one point of Premier League leaders City with a win over Arsenal on Wednesday. The Reds won the League Cup last month and are in the quarterfinals of both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Klopp is certain that Salah's contract standoff with the club will not affect their chance of claiming multiple trophies. The German coach also believes the former Chelsea forward is fully focused on helping Liverpool overcome Pep Guardiola's side to claim the English top flight title.

"Mo Salah contract saga's not creating any problem. Mo's not like that. He's completely committed this season, then we'll talk about the rest - future, immediate, further," Klopp said, as per Fabrizio Romano.