Liverpool have had an opening offer of £28 million for AS Roma winger Mohamed Salah rejected, according to various reports.

Sky Sports Italy, the Daily Mail and the Times have reported that the Reds have made an official bid for the Egyptian winger, one of their main targets as they look to strengthen in wide positions.

Salah, who provided 19 goals and 15 assists in 41 appearances for the Giallorossi as they finished second in Serie A, is thought to be valued at nearer to £35 to 40 million, with two years to run on his contract.

With no manager currently in charge of the Italian giants, chairman James Pallotta is thought to have been behind the decision to reject the initial bid, say Sky Italy.

Negotiations are expected to continue between the two clubs as Liverpool look to strike a deal, with Salah keen on a return to England.

Several unnamed Premier League clubs are thought to be showing interest in the former Chelsea wide-man, with the player's agent Ramy Abbas having travelled to London earlier this week.

That has led some to suggest Salah has already agreed personal terms with Liverpool with only a fee now needing to be decided with Roma for the deal to go ahead.

Reds back in for Salah as they look to improve options out wide

The 24-year-old nearly joined Liverpool in January 2014 but went on to join Chelsea, making just 13 league appearances for the Blues though picking up a Premier League and League Cup medal.

According to Salah himself, his move to Liverpool fell through as his club then - Swiss outfit Basel - had rejected a number of bids and Chelsea boss at the time José Mourinho personally rang him up to confirm his interest in a deal.

The question if Salah were to arrive on Merseyside would be who operates on the right of their front three, with Player of the Season Sadio Mané also occupying that role and having excelled in his first year at Anfield, with 13 goals and five assists in the league.

But selecting which of Mané or Salah started in their favoured right-sided would be a welcome problem for Jürgen Klopp, with Liverpool desperately lacking in options out wide and reliant on Mané.

The Senegalese's spell at the African Cup of Nations in January coincided with the club's worst run of form - failing to win a single game in his absence - while the majority of their performances were notably less explosive going forward at the end of the campaign with Mané sidelined by a knee injury.

Salah is the club's first-choice wide attacker after interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt cooled over the 20-year-old's desire to be a week-in, week-out starter ahead of the 2018 World Cup, in which he hopes to be picked for reigning World champions Germany.

Liverpool also remain keen on RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keïta, who is expected to decide on his future after a holiday, and could cost them as much as £50 million.

They have however given up hope of securing a deal for 17-year-old Fulham left-back Ryan Sessegnon and will be forced to consider alternative targets.

Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk is still the club's main priority this summer as Klopp looks to add strength in depth and quality to Liverpool's starting eleven.