Liverpool fans had been waiting nervously for the Saudi deadline to close.
There was the fear Al-Ittihad could come back with a bid the Reds could not refuse for Salah – when they would not have been able to buy a replacement for four months.
Salah has scored 188 goals in 309 games for Liverpool since joining from Roma in 2017.
“The key for Liverpool is Salah,” said former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“With him, I really believe they can make a challenge to Manchester City. If he went, they wouldn’t challenge – he is that important to Liverpool.”
Reds legend Jamie Carragher added on TalkSPORT: “It feels like a brilliant start [to the season] for Liverpool, everyone has got their energy and buzz back.
“It feels like the start of a new team, Klopp 2, Liverpool fans are calling it.”
While Al-Ittihad may yet make a renewed offer in January or next summer, Salah’s Liverpool contract runs for almost two more years, until the end of 2024-25.
“Before you know it, his contract will be up and he will be able to go on a free,” continued Carragher. “The feeling among most Liverpool fans is we have him for one more season.
“For all parties it feels like next summer Liverpool would still get a substantial fee and would still have him this season and a good chance of success. Liverpool would then have 12 months to consider how they replace him.
“It would be very difficult to get another Mo Salah right away, but great players come and great players go.”
