£150M transfer decision set to pay "enormous" dividends for Liverpool

Liverpool dismissed late interest in Mohamed Salah from Al-Ittihad and have been praised by Chris Sutton for the impact it will have this season.

Jurgen Klopp steered the Reds through their opening four Premier League fixtures without much of a hitch.

When the fixtures were announced for the season, Liverpool would have hoped to get between 10-12 points from games against Chelsea, Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

Bournemouth aside, that was a tough start on paper but having picked up 10 points, they now head into the next batch of fixtures in a strong position.

What did Chris Sutton have to say about Liverpool keeping Mo Salah?

Speaking on the Monday Night Club, BBC Pundit Chris Sutton hailed Liverpool for not bowing to the financial gain they would have been assured by selling the Egyptian.

They were verbally offered £150 million by Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad but FSG, Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah himself were not interested.

“I think this is an enormous season for Liverpool, holding onto Salah," Sutton said.

“There was all the talk about him going to Saudi [Arabia], which was absolutely massive.

"I’m really pleased he’s stayed from Liverpool’s perspective because I do think they are the team to challenge. They’re off to an absolute flyer.”

Who do Liverpool face before the next international break?

Liverpool are just two points behind league leaders Manchester City and will be hoping to close the gap before the next international break starts on 14 October 2023.

Before then, Liverpool's will fixtures are:

• 16 Sep - Wolves (A) - Premier League
• 21 Sep - LASK (A) - Europa League
• 24 Sep - West Ham (H) - Premier League
• 27 Sep - Leicester City (H) - EFL Cup 
• 30 Sep - Tottenham (A) - Premier League
• 5 Oct - Union Saint-Gilloise (H)- Europa League
• 8 Oct - Brighton (A) - Premier League

Klopp and his players stand a very good chance of being able to dominate their next seven fixtures with Spurs and Brighton likely their most difficult opponents.

Salah will be key, of course, but his attacking displays will be essential more than ever with Liverpool set to miss Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman will only return domestically for the game against Brighton on 8 October. He was fined and suspended for his reaction to being sent off against Aston Villa but will not miss Europa League games.