Transfer gossip: European giant want Salah as Liverpool eye shock sale; Felix decides Chelsea future

Saturday’s Football Transfer Gossip tells us that Liverpool are contemplating selling Mohamed Salah and Chelsea want to keep Joao Felix beyond this season. Plus there are bits on Lionel Messi and Chris Smalling. Two pretty similar players.

PSG EYE SHOCK SALAH SIGNING
It was reported earlier this month by Football Insider that Liverpool are exploring the sale of star player Mohamed Salah. If you were unaware, the Egyptian has scored quite a lot of goals for the Reds since joining them from AS Roma in 2017. 175 to be exact. He hasn’t been at his best this season, but has still found the back of the net a very respectable 19 times. Why would Liverpool want to sell him?

Well, the initial report says Liverpool want a ‘huge overhaul’ with new owners potentially coming in. Since then we have learned that FSG don’t want to sell, but the same outlet are sticking to their guns and say French champions Paris Saint-Germain are ‘interested’ in signing Salah.

PSG already have three world-class forwards, but Lionel Messi could leave at the end of the season, Kylian Mbappe is always looking for new shiny toys, and Neymar is…well, Neymar.

The report does actually mention the planned overhaul ‘amid takeover speculation’. Who wants to tell them? Eager to raise funds, the Reds hierarchy is apparently aware that Salah is one of very few players in their squad worth over £50million, with a summer squad overhaul on the cards. Liverpool being Liverpool might want to sell before they buy.

FELIX WANTS CHELSEA STAY
Joao Felix really showed us his best and worst on his Chelsea debut; running the show against Fulham before receiving a straight red card. He missed three games as a result and is yet to taste victory in blue. Despite this, he wants to stay, according to our favourite Spanish outlet, Fichajes.

Felix’s Atletico Madrid future has been cast in doubt for quite a while now, however, he signed a contract extension before securing his expensive loan move to Stamford Bridge. Surely this completely rules out a permanent move, unless the Spanish club go back on a big promise, like Diego Simeone leaving at the end of the season. Coming from me, someone with no sources, surely Simeone staying would be the only thing that will result in Felix staying at Chelsea beyond this term.

Atletico ‘do not want to lose the Portuguese’, but Felix ‘feels more comfortable’ in west London and is ‘opting more and more to disassociate himself’ from the La Liga side. ‘Everything indicates’ that he will not return to the Spanish capital, as long as Simeone is there.

SMALLING LINKED WITH PL RETURN
Chris Smalling’s move to Roma was the best thing he has done in his career. Playing abroad has worked for some English players, it hasn’t for others; it certainly has for the former Manchester United defender.

Perhaps unlucky not to be back in the England set-up under Gareth Southgate, Smalling has been fantastic for the Serie A giants, but is being linked with a return to the Premier League.

Out of contract at the end of the season, the 33-year-old has Leicester, Everton, Fulham and West Ham on red alert, according to 90min. A move to Craven Cottage could be his first choice given his history with the club. He made the ambitious move to the Londoners from Maidstone in 2008 before joining United two years later.

Smalling does seem eager to remain in Italy, however. He recently told Sky Italia: “I am very confident [about staying]. I have an option to renew for one year but I hope to stay for more seasons”.

AGUERO LITERALLY GOSSIPS ABOUT MESSI
Sergio Aguero is a bit of a character and perhaps anything he says should be taken with a pinch of salt. This was the thought process of Maxi Rodriguez when Aguero claimed PSG star Lionel Messi has privately told him he will return to Newell’s Old Boys.

“He is seriously considering the possibility of playing for Newell’s,” Aguero reportedly told UOL. Rodriguez responded: “Kun is Kun. He can’t keep quiet. We will see. It is hard to talk about this because then a giant ball of rumours is made. Let’s wait and see what happens, we will not get ahead of the facts.”

As mentioned prior, Messi’s contract expires at the end of the season. He has strongly been linked with a move to MLS side Inter Miami.

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