Salah was ‘prepared’ to move to Chelsea before signing new Liverpool deal

Mohamed Salah was preparing a transfer back to Chelsea before he eventually agreed a deal to sign a new contract at Liverpool.

The Egypt international has put to bed months of speculation that he could leave this summer or next after put to paper on a new deal at Anfield. He has become the highest-paid player in the club's history after signing a £350,000-a-week contract that will keep him at the club until 2025.

There had been reports that the 30-year-old was prepared to run down his terms until next year and leave Liverpool on a free transfer. There were a host of clubs keeping tabs on the situation, including Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

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But one surprise destination touted was Chelsea where new owner Todd Boehly was preparing to speak to Salah about his contract situation, report The Sun. Through his agent Ramy Abbas, the forward made it clear to Liverpool's owners that they would consider returning to Stamford Bridge.

Salah spent two years in west London but never made much of an impression, moving to AS Roma after before being picked up by Liverpool. Since then, he has become one of the best players in recent Premier League history – bagging the most recent PFA Player of the Year award.

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A return to Chelsea would have been a dramatic turnaround and one that would not have gone down well at Anfield while Thomas Tuchel is desperate to bolster his attacking ranks. The likes of Raphinha, Raheem Sterling and Ousmane Dembele have been linked recently.

But after losing Sadio Mane this summer to Bayern Munich, the likelihood that Liverpool would have sold Salah as well would have been slim unless a mammoth offer came in. Talks over a new deal accelerated in recent days after an initial framework was agreed on.

Salah said : “I feel great and [I am] excited to win trophies with the club. It’s a happy day for everyone. It takes a little bit of time, I think, to renew, but now everything is done so we just need to focus on what’s next."

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