Saudi transfer chief reiterates Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez ambition - 'I envisage'

The Saudi Pro League's head of scouting said that he sees the likes of and moving there as the league continues to grow.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar have made the move to the Gulf state since 2022, with the nation's Public Investment Fund pumping serious amounts of cash into the division over the last few years.

Mohamed Salah has also ever since Liverpool rejected a huge bid for the forward from Al-Ittihad during the 2023 summer transfer window. There was not much speculation surrounding Salah's future last summer, but links with a move to Saudi Arabia have resurfaced this season as .

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And the Saudi Pro League's head of scouting, Thomas Spring, expects players like Salah to continue to leave Europe in favor of the riches of Saudi Arabia.

"I think that the recruitment model will be a healthy balance between elite, world-class players," Spring told The Overlap. "So I still envisage a Mo Salah, a De Bruyne, a Darwin Nunez. I still envisage those players coming across.

"But I also envisage more emerging players like a Jhon Duran, for example, I see more younger players that are really operating successfully in leagues around Europe coming across. And that healthy balance being there.

"Then I also envisage that the ambition will still be there. So the goal of the SPL is to compete with Europe's top-five leagues. So whatever method to achieve that, whether that's staffing or facilities or player recruitment, medical, discipline, I envisage they will invest heavily into that. To come on par with Europe's top-five leagues."

Salah's Liverpool contract is due to expire at the end of this season and it remains unclear whether he will stay at Anfield beyond the summer or leave for pastures new.

The Egyptian was spotted with a film crew in Liverpool city center earlier this week, prompting speculation online that video content was being created to accompany a contract announcement by the club.

Liverpool.com understands that was recording content for the club’s channels but this had nothing to do with any contract announcement. However, the wave of social media activity is a reminder of just how desperate Liverpool fans are for Salah to pen a new deal.

Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season and provided 22 assists. He is on the verge of collecting a second Premier League winners’ medal and could reach 400 appearances for the club by the end of the season.

While uncertainty continues to swirl, one thing is for sure: Wednesday’s trip to town had nothing to do with a new contract.