Liverpool star Mohamed Salah ‘is a plan B option’ for Barcelona if they fail to land Erling Haaland

Mohamed Salah ‘has emerged as an option for Barcelona this summer’ with the Nou Camp club confident they could buy the Liverpool star for just £60million.

The Egyptian’s contract at Anfield expires in the summer of 2023 and so Liverpool could be forced to sell sooner than they’d like to recoup maximum value for the forward.

Salah, 29, is enjoying another outstanding season with 28 goals and 10 assists as Jurgen Klopp’s men pursue a historic Quadruple of silverware.

Barcelona’s head coach Xavi Hernandez would be keen on the prolific Egyptian forward

But Salah’s long-term future remains uncertain and the Spanish newspaper Diario AS report that Barcelona would consider Salah as a back-up option if they are unable to sign Erling Haaland this summer.

The Nou Camp club are searching for a high-profile striker as they look to return to trophy contenders both in Spain and Europe following their financial crisis.

Borussia Dortmund and Norway hotshot Haaland, 21, remains the No 1 target but AS report a growing confidence at Barcelona that ‘plan B’ Salah could be bought for no more than about £60m.

They say head coach Xavi and the club’s hierarchy regard Salah as the ‘priority alternative’ who would be significantly cheaper than Haaland.

The report states that Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski would be a third choice for Barcelona with Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku also a name in the frame.

Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland remains Barcelona’s first target for the summer

Barcelona believe Salah, who has 28 goals this season, would be a good fit for their team 

Barcelona believe Salah would fit nicely into their team given his versatility playing across the forward line and that he would guarantee them at least 30 goals a season.

AS report that Barcelona have already received positive noises from Salah’s camp when they tentatively expressed their interest.

Salah has been at Anfield for five years and has previously made no secret of his wish to play for one of the leading Spanish teams.

Talks over a new contact at Liverpool have dragged on with Salah believed to want wages of £400,000-a-week, making him comfortably the highest-paid player in the club’s history.   

Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, posted a cryptic tweet of seven crying-with-laughter emojis after Liverpool manager Klopp suggested discussions over his new contract hadn’t taken place since December.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said last week that talks over Salah’s new deal had stalled

Salah’s agent then appeared to laugh off the suggestion that the club have done all they can

When the German was asked about contracts on Thursday, he said: ‘I understand these questions but the club is in talks with all the agents and all the people. Until then it makes no sense.

‘The Mo question, nothing new happened, everything is fine. Mo is giving absolutely everything to the club. The club is in talks with all the agents and that is how it should be.’