Soccer-Turkey's Trabzonspor say transfer talks with Salah underway

Turkish football club Trabzonspor has begun transfer negotiations with Mohamed Salah, with the Egyptian forward expected to sign with the club later this week.

Turkish top-tier side Trabzonspor ​said on Tuesday they have begun transfer negotiations ​with Mohamed Salah, with the club chairman ‌adding ​they hoped to sign the Egyptian forward later this week.

"Negotiations have been launched to transfer professional footballer Mohamed Salah, who is in a free status, to ‌our club," the club said in a statement on Turkey's public disclosure platform. Speaking to broadcaster A Spor shortly after the statement, Trabzonspor Chairman Ertugrul Dogan said that while the transfer was not yet complete, Salah was expected to arrive in ‌Istanbul for medical checks on Wednesday and then head to Trabzon to sign with the Black Sea side.

He ‌did not say when the contract would be signed, but said it would likely be on Thursday. Salah left Liverpool this summer after nine years, having scored 257 goals in 442 appearances, where he won the Premier League twice and the Champions League once.

In the 2024-25 season, Salah ⁠scored ​29 Premier League goals and ⁠provided 18 assists, equalling the league record for most goal involvements in a single season and setting the record for a 38-game campaign. He ⁠was named Premier League Player of the Season and won the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award, becoming the first player to ​take all three in one campaign.

His output waned last season, with seven goals and seven assists in ⁠27 league matches and he was left on the bench in Champions League games, leading to a public spat with Liverpool's then-manager Arne Slot. The ⁠34-year-old ​started his career in Europe at Swiss side Basel in 2012 and later joined Chelsea. He also had brief stints at Fiorentina and AS Roma between 2015 and 2017 before joining Liverpool.

Trabzonspor - who are generally considered to ⁠be the fourth biggest team in Turkey after Istanbul sides Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, and Besiktas - finished third in the Super ⁠Lig last season and will ⁠enter the Europa League playoff round. Salah had been close to joining Istanbul club Besiktas , whose football director Onder Ozen said negotiations had stalled over financial and image-rights demands, ‌according to local ‌media.