Mohamed Salah "reaches agreement" to join club aiming to hijack Besiktas bid

When Mohamed Salah left Liverpool in May, bringing to an end his illustrious nine year career at Anfield, it was far from clear where he would end up. Well, Beşiktaş appeared his most-likely destination. During Leandro Trossard's presentation at Tüpraş Stadyumu, sat alongside President Serdal Adalı, fans were chanting Salah's name, which rather overshadowed the event for the former Arsenal winger.

In the week or so after, it seemed only a matter of time until the Egyptian King would himself become a Beşiktaş player. However, could he instead be joining a Süper Lig rival? Well, according to Turkish journalist Yağız Sabuncuoğlu, Trabzonspor have "reached an agreement" to sign free agent Salah, adding that he would sign a two-year contract.

Elsewhere, fellow journalist Ismael Mahmoud claims that Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad " is in negotiations" with Salah. He adds that the Tigers will "pursue the deal more aggressively with greater financial strength" if Moussa Diaby decides to depart. Saudi clubs are only permitted to register ten foreign player, in their case, one of whom is Fabinho, so it would have to be a one in one out policy for Al-Ittihad.

Despite this, Salah's priority has always been to remain in Europe. With seemingly little interest in him from clubs in big five leagues, Türkiye does feel like the most-likely destination. He can still compete in UEFA competition, while the 34 year old and his family would surely feel at home in a country that is 99.8% muslim. So, will he end up in İstanbul or Trabzon?

Should Mohamed Salah choose Trabzonspor or Beşiktaş?

The two clubs vying for Salah's signature finished third and fourth in the Süper Lig last season, behind four in a row champions Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. More broadly, it would be a difficult choice between the two. Of course, İstanbul might be a more attractive place to live. With a population of almost 16 million people, it is the 18th biggest city in the world, and the largest in Europe. Trabzon though, located on the Black Sea, is a beautiful city too, and might be conducive to a quieter life, if that is what Salah is after.

Well, the city was far from quiet when Trabzonspor most-recently won the Süper Lig title, doing so for the first time in 38 years, back in 2022. The scenes of fans celebrating in the streets went vital, underlining the entire city's passion for the club.

Beşiktaş were last crowned champions the season before, making both pretty equally likely to challenge for major honours in the next year or two, seeking to dethrone Galatasaray. Neither can offer Salah Champions League football, but both are well placed to get into the Europa League.

To reach the league phase, Trabzonspor will have to overcome either Ferencváros or Górnik Zabrze later this month. Meantime, having already ousted Midtjylland, Beşiktaş must win two ties to get there. Hradec Králové are the next side in their way before, if they progress, taking on the losers of GNK Dinamo Zagreb vs Kauno Žalgiris, likely the latter. All of these are winnable for both Turkish clubs.

So, which should Salah choose? Well, it is a hard decision. On top of the cultural reasons already outlined, Türkiye seems like a good landing spot because, whomever he signs for, Salah will be absolutely worshiped, even on a completely different scale to how he was loved at Liverpool.

The Black Eagles' current attacking options include the aforementioned Trossard, former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu and ex-Rangers winger Václav Černý. Meantime, over in Trabzon, Fatih Tekke's squad contains Sidny Lopes Cabral, scorer of World Cup goal of the tournament against Argentina, the 201 cms man mountain that is Paul Onuachu, oh and a certain André Onana donning the gloves.

Wherever Salah goes, every Liverpool fan worldwide will wish him all the best.

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