The Pitch: The ‘fixed and variable’ factors blocking Salah and Van Dijk deals

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (centre left) during a training session at AXA Training Centre, Liverpool. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
A revealing insight into lengthy transfer negotiations at Liverpool FC by Harvard Business School (HBS) is a fascinating reference for what might be going wrong at the club in retaining its top talent.
The 26-page paper, which is available for a nominal fee at HBS, was produced with the inputs of Mohamed Salah and his agent Ramy Abbas Issa and details the almost two-year process and pain points of negotiating Salah’s current €418k-per-week deal.