£280k a week: the price of Conall Beck

£280,000 a week. That is what Conall Beck costs Liverpool, and now two clubs are asking whether he is worth it. Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club and Ponferrada both want the Northern Irish forward, and the Anfield club must decide whether to cash in or hold on.

Beck has been at Liverpool since he came through the youth intake in 2048, a one-club man in the making. He has played 531 club games and scored 163 goals across a career that has also taken in Huddersfield and Hull. This season he remains part of the furniture, but the furniture is expensive.

Al-Hilal are shopping widely, with 39 players on their list, but Beck is one of them. Ponferrada have joined the chase. No bid has been accepted, no contract negotiated, but the interest is real. The Saudi club have the money to make Liverpool think, and the Spanish side have the ambition to force a decision.

Liverpool's finances are strained. Bank debt of £368 million and a negative balance sit alongside strong commercial income, and every wage matters. Beck's £280,000 a week is a significant line on the books, and the chance to move him on would ease the pressure. But he is also a player who has given the club 431 league games and 130 goals, and the fans would not let him go quietly.

The next few weeks will tell. Liverpool face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on 11 December, and Beck could yet play a part in that. But the transfer window is approaching, and the phone calls have started. Al-Hilal and Ponferrada are not just browsing; they are serious.

Beck is 31, and his best years are behind him. But he remains a player of value, and two clubs are willing to pay for that. Liverpool must decide what they want more: the money or the man.