Mohamed Salah closes in on Besiktas move as agent drops fee demand

Mohamed Salah is edging closer to a move to Besiktas after his agent agreed to significantly reduce his commission, according to reports in Turkey.

Turkish newspaper Fanatik claims Rami Abbas, the Egypt forward’s long-time representative, has accepted a lower fee to help finalise Salah’s proposed transfer to the Istanbul club.

Abbas had reportedly been seeking a 35% cut of the value of Salah’s contract, a figure described as the key stumbling block in Besiktas’ efforts to complete the deal. The reduction in that demand is said to have revived negotiations and removed the biggest obstacle in talks.

Besiktas preparing contracts

Fanatik reports that Besiktas are now preparing the paperwork for Salah’s arrival and are waiting only to finalise the details of Abbas’s revised commission before pushing ahead with the signing.

The development follows an earlier admission from the Besiktas president, who had publicly identified the agent’s commission as the main barrier to bringing Salah to the club.

Previous reports in Turkey have also outlined why Salah is keen to experience football in the Turkish league, although the details of those motivations were not expanded upon in the latest update.

Interest from Erdogan

Salah’s potential move to Besiktas is attracting significant attention in Turkey, including from the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is said to be following the situation closely.

The transfer, if completed, would see one of the most high-profile Arab and African footballers of his generation join one of Turkey’s most widely supported clubs, the team popularly known as the Black Eagles.

Besiktas on the pitch

While negotiations over Salah’s future continue off the field, Besiktas have made a positive start in European competition.

The Istanbul side recorded a 1-0 victory over Danish club Midtjylland on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off tie, a result that gives them an advantage ahead of the return match.

Salah’s recent career

Salah is currently a free agent after bringing his time at Liverpool to an end at the conclusion of last season, closing a nine-year spell at Anfield.

During his stay with the Reds, the Egyptian forward established himself as one of the Premier League’s standout players, but the Fanatik report focused only on the length of his Liverpool career rather than his honours with the club.

On the international stage, Salah recently returned to Egypt duty at the World Cup, where the national team were eliminated in the last 16 by Argentina.

No timeframe has yet been given in the Turkish reports for when an agreement might be completed, but Besiktas’ preparations of the contracts, alongside Abbas’s reduced commission demands, are being portrayed as major steps towards Salah’s arrival in Istanbul.