So Liverpool and Roma never could agree on a fee for Mohamed Salah after all.

Throughout the transfer negotiations the word from the Italian club was that the Egyptian winger, who is undergoing a medical at Liverpool today, would cost €40 million (about £35 million) plus up to €5 million in add-ons, but the Merseyside club said they were paying nearer €39 million in total. Roma claimed last night that the deal could be worth as much as £44 million, which would represent a Liverpool transfer record.

Salah is poised to complete his transfer to Liverpool today REUTERS/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI

By Liverpool’s calculations Salah will cost £34.3 million, meaning Andy Carroll would remain in the record books as the club’s record purchase. For that reason alone, you would have thought they might have bumped up the fee.

But