Jurgen Klopp has stressed that Liverpool were "pretty sure" that Mohamed Salah would prove a shrewd signing for the Reds.
The Egypt international was recruited from Roma last summer for a £37m fee, which Klopp acknowledges carried an element of risk.
Salah has enjoyed a marvellous debut season at Anfield, scoring 41 goals in all competitions so far and helping Liverpool to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
As the 25-year-old prepares to face his former club in Tuesday's first leg, Klopp reflected on the price of his summer signing.
"Is it a bargain?" the German told Sky Sports News. "I don't know but it's the business.
"Which is the better business, to bring in [full-back] Andy Robertson from Hull for a few million or doing that? That's the business part of football. £37m or whatever it was, I'm not sure of the price, it was the market and other teams could have bought him.
"Is it that now he's scored 40 goals, maybe we should pay £50m? You always take the risk that it doesn't work. He's a very good player and we hoped, we were pretty sure, it would work out, but we couldn't be 100% sure."
Salah was previously on the books at Chelsea, though he failed to make his mark at Stamford Bridge and was shipped out on loan to Fiorentina and Roma.
Giuseppe Labellarte
