Liverpool have lost the race to sign Basel winger Mohamed Salah, being outbid by Chelsea at the last hurdle, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Reports on Wednesday suggested Salah was due on Merseyside before the end of the week to seal a £10 million switch to Liverpool, but a bid on Wednesday night from Chelsea has scuppered that deal.

Jose Mourinho is looking to bring Salah in as a direct replacement for Juan Mata, who is set to join Manchester United in a £37 million deal later today.

James Pearce of the Echo writes on Thursday afternoon:

Liverpool value the player at around the £8million mark but Basel have upped their asking price for Salah to around £16million.

It would appear that the Reds are unwilling to match the fee Chelsea say they are prepared to pay for the 21-year-old Egyptian international’s services.

With just over a week of the January transfer window remaining, this news will come as a major blow to Brendan Rodgers, who had hoped to bolster his attacking options with Salah’s talents.

The Reds may also be looking at full-back and central defensive midfield targets before the window closes on Friday, 31st January.

It certainly seems it could be an exciting last week of transfer speculation and activity, with time running out for Liverpool and their Premier League rivals to sign the right players to carry them up the league.

What are your feelings on possibly missing out on signing Salah? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or on Twitter @thisisanfield.