£26m Liverpool offer revealed as Klopp ‘wanted to buy’ Napoli star in the summer | OneFootball

Eljif Elmas was a target for Liverpool in the summer.

Liverpool wanted to sign Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas in the summer transfer window but they couldn’t agree a fee, according to reports in Italy.

The Reds sold Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabian clubs during the summer with Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner also leaving on free transfers at the end of June.

That led to a midfield revamp by Jurgen Klopp with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch all signing to give Liverpool a new-look side.

There were a number of players they tried to sign but failed with Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo choosing to sign for Premier League rivals Chelsea instead.

Corriere dello Sport insist that Liverpool were interested in signing Macedonia international Elmas from Napoli with the Italian newspaper claiming the Reds ‘wanted to buy him’.

Liverpool ended up ‘offering €30m (£26m)’ for Elmas but the Premier League club were met with a ‘firm and decisive’ response from the Italian giants who had no intention of selling at that price.

Mohamed Salah was one player who was linked with a move away from Liverpool in the summer transfer window with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad bidding £150m before the English transfer window shut.

And Saudi Pro League director of football Michael Emenalo insists they “close no doors” on a future deal to sign Salah from Liverpool.

“If it didn’t happen, it’s not because we no longer fancy the player or because we have a problem with Liverpool,” Emenalo told Sky Sports.

“It’s because certain things that need to align for all the parties involved in the process didn’t align. Nobody is angry, we move on. But we absolutely close no doors.

“And if the opportunity is there to do things and do it well, and it brings Mohamed Salah to the Saudi Pro League, we’ll all be very grateful.”

ESPN pundit Gab Marcotti thinks that some in the “Liverpool ownership structure” probably wanted to sell Salah and bank the money.

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“And despite clubs in Saudi Arabia trying to bring him across, he opted to stay at least another year. Maybe there are some people in the Liverpool ownership structure that wish he would have gone and had the money, instead,” Marcotti told ESPN.

“But, this way, he cements his role as an Anfield hero and not leaving Jurgen Klopp high and dry.

“I put him in there [as one of the biggest winners of the transfer window] because, guess what? He and his agent were true to their word.

“Ramy Abbas coming out a month and a half ago saying ‘listen, if he was going to move to Saudi for the money, he would already be there. Chill out. Don’t worry about it. He is going to stay’.”