Trabzonspor president denies agreement to sign Mohamed Salah

Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan has denied reports that the Turkish club have reached an agreement to sign former Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

French website Foot Mercato reported that Trabzonspor were close to completing a deal for the Egypt international, but Dogan said no agreement had been reached and dismissed suggestions that Salah was due to arrive in Turkey imminently.

“There are many reports circulating, but there is no agreement with Mohamed Salah. There is no plan for Salah to arrive in Trabzon tomorrow. If arrangements of this kind had been made, we would have announced them to the media and our supporters,” Dogan told Turkish television channel A Spor.

Dogan acknowledged that signing a player of Salah’s standing would be attractive to any club, but said Trabzonspor had not yet reached an agreement with the 34-year-old.

“Who would not want to sign a player like Mohamed Salah? I would like that too, but as of this moment there is no agreement,” he added.

The Trabzonspor president declined to confirm whether the club had been in contact with Salah, saying he had to protect the interests of the club by choosing his words carefully.

“I do not want to talk about whether we have contacted Mohamed Salah or not. As the president of the club, I have to protect Trabzonspor’s interests, so we must choose our words carefully,” he said.

Dogan also promised that any developments relating to the club’s transfer business would be communicated immediately.

“If there is any new development regarding transfers, we will inform our supporters and the public immediately,” he said.

Salah ended his nine-year spell with Liverpool at the conclusion of last season. During his time at Anfield, he established himself as one of the club’s leading attacking players, although the report does not provide details of his next destination.

The Egypt forward also returned from the World Cup with his national team after Egypt were eliminated by Argentina in the last 16.

Trabzonspor finished third in the Turkish league last season and are set to take part in the Europa League campaign, beginning in the qualifying play-off round for a place in the main stage.

The club has previously featured Egyptian forward Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” and Turkish midfielder Ayman Abdelaziz. Their involvement adds to Trabzonspor’s links with players from Egypt and Turkey, but Dogan’s comments make clear that there is currently no confirmed deal involving Salah.

The original reports had suggested that the former Liverpool player could be close to joining the Turkish side. However, Trabzonspor have not announced an agreement, a planned arrival or any completed transfer involving Salah.