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Liverpool reportedly scouted 15 players before arriving at the decision to sign Mohamed Salah in the summer of 2017.
Liverpool signed the 30-year-old forward from A.S. Roma for a fee of £36.9 million five years ago. The Egyptian has registered an impressive 156 goals and 58 assists in 254 appearances for the Reds so far, cementing his status as a club legend.
According to The Times, the Premier League club identified 15 wide players between 2013 and 2017. Former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards spearheaded the entire scouting mission with the help of head of scouting and recruitment Dave Fallows and chief scout Barry Hunter.
At the time, Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund refused to part ways with American winger Christian Pulisic. German internationals Julian Brandt and Julian Draxler were also part of the scouting list.
In the 2021-22 season, Salah won his second Premier League Golden Boot after scoring 23 goals in 35 matches. Overall, he registered 31 goals and 16 assists in 51 matches for the Reds across all competitions.
Liverpool had earlier missed out on his signature in 2013, when Premier League rivals Chelsea snapped him up from Swiss side Basel.
Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool is uncertain
The Egypt international, who will be entering the final 12 months of his current deal at Anfield, is reportedly awaiting a revised contract offer from the club. After an initial offer in December last year, there have been no face-to-face talks yet.
With Sadio Mane on the verge of joining Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Liverpool will hope to tie down the former Chelsea man to a new deal. According to a report by The Athletic, the Reds are desperate to keep Salah at the club. The report also states that the prolific forward was offered a 15% increase in pay on his current deal, which the player's representatives felt undervalued him.
Meanwhile, the club have completed the transfers of Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica, Scottish right-back Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen, and Portuguese attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho from Fulham ahead of the start of the upcoming season.
