KOP’S SALAH THE CENTURY

LIVERPOOL will pay a clubrecord £39million to finally complete the signing of Roma star Mohamed Salah (left) by the end of the week. The Egypt

international flew into England last night after weeks of tense negotiation delivered a breakthrough, with the Mersey men agreeing to pay Roma around £33.5m up front, with £5.5m in add-ons.

The 25-year-old will have a medical before he signs a fiveyear contract thought to be worth around £90,000 a week.

The news that agreement had finally been reached was welcomed by Kop boss Jurgen Klopp, who regarded the quicksilver winger with an eye for goals as his No.1 priority in the transfer window. He spoke even before the end of last season about his determination to bring in a player like Salah, with the idea of moving Philippe Coutinho (below) into a deeper midfield role.

After moving to Roma in a permanent deal from Chelsea for around £11m last summer, Salah scored 19 goals in all competitions for the Italians, and was also credited with 12 assists.

He was one of only eight players in Europe’s top five leagues to record double figures in both goals and assists, alongside the likes of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Alexis Sanchez, and Klopp sees such productivity as vital to Liverpool’s development next season. Liverpool could have bought Salah from Basel three years ago but, when they refused to pay more than £10m, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho stepped in with a £12m bid, with another £6m in potential add-ons.