FSG mistake, new hint, deal timeline – Liverpool receive final Mohamed Salah contract verdict

FSG mistake, new hint, deal timeline – Liverpool receive final Mohamed Salah contract verdict

Mohamed Salah has revealed is yet to be offered a new contract by Liverpool with the Egyptian forward giving a bombshell update on his future after scoring twice in the win at Southampton

Richard Garnett Central Audience Sport Content Editor, Jake Stokes, Kieran Horn, Stephen Killen Senior Football Writer, Isaac Johnson and Keifer MacDonald

Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool appears no clearer after the forward revealed that he is yet to receive a contract offer from the club.

Salah, 32, who scored a second-half brace to help Arne Slot’s side beat Southampton and move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, is free to negotiate a pre-contract with overseas clubs in less than five weeks time.

Speaking to the ECHO, and other publications after the win at St Mary’s, Salah said he is disappointed by the fact he is yet to be offered fresh terms by the club’s hierarchy. “Well, we are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club, [so] I’m probably more out than in,” said Salah.

READ MORE: Real Madrid suffer huge injury blow ahead of Champions League clash against LiverpoolREAD MORE: Liverpool handed new penalty verdict after controversial Andy Robertson decision

“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.

“I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see. Of course [no offer is disappointing], yeah.

“I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.

“I’m very professional. Everybody can see my work ethic. I’m just trying to enjoy my football and I will play at the top level as long as possible. I’m just doing my best because this is who I am and I try to give it all for myself and for the club. We will see what happens next.”

If Liverpool needed further proof that Mohamed Salah remains as integral as ever, then the Egyptian absolutely demonstrated that at Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Of course, it was the Egyptian’s second-half rescue act – scoring his 9th and 10th goals of the Premier League season – that secured Arne Slot’s side a significant come-from-behind win in the Premier League title race.

At 32, Salah has aged like a fine wine during his eight seasons at Anfield and continues to lead by example – both on and off the pitch – like very few players in world football are capable of doing.

But his interview at St Mary’s on Sunday was as striking as it was significant, Salah hinting that he is clearly keen to stay at Anfield and is no longer prepared to do his talking solely on the pitch. The ball is now firmly in Liverpool’s court.

Salah has sent a very clear message to the board here – ‘I want to stay, I’m frustrated at the pace of things, let’s get it sorted’. Perfectly timed after his match-winning brace on Sunday, these comments are not off the cuff. And rightly so.

Salah is the only one of the soon-to-be out of contract trio to make it abundantly clear that he wishes to stay. Virgil van Dijk says he is in talks but has “no idea” if he will be at the club next season while Trent Alexander-Arnold could only commit his future to the end of this campaign.

Liverpool are 36 days away from their best three players being permitted to speak to overseas clubs about their future, as they enter the final six months of their deal. While the Reds hold a very strong position, it is a situation that cannot be allowed to drag on and create a distraction from the trophy hunt.

Salah knows that fan pressure can tilt the scales into a player’s favour during contract talks, pressure that is only going to increase as time and his form continues. He has more than earned the right to utilise that power. FSG, surely, has a simple decision to make.

‘FSG, he fires a bow, now give Mo his dough,’ was the banner that has emerged on the Kop recently and the noise surrounding Mohamed Salah’s contract uncertainty will be louder than ever before.

He was yet again the match-winner against Southampton and his importance to Liverpool is becoming clearer each and every week. Now, the Egyptian has put the Anfield chiefs on alert with his telling post-match comments, thus increasing the pressure to table a deal worthy of tying down the 32-year-old.

And why wouldn’t they? You will struggle to find a player of his calibre out there, at a young age, capable to putting up the numbers that he has and following in the Liverpool greats footsteps.

The decision-makers at Liverpool are prolonging the process, increasing pressure on themselves and stoking fan disgruntlement – during a crucial period where the Reds find themselves deep into the title race.

The scrutiny that contract uncertainty carries, not just for your star player but two other key players in Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the weight of that will eventually become insurmountable. Liverpool have to act and what better time to do it of the biggest meeting with Manchester City in recent years on Sunday. What a boost it would be.

Following another scintillating display, Mohamed Salah is arguably the most in-form player in the Premier League right now. The 32-year-old is gradually catching Manchester City’s Erling Haaland following his blistering start to the campaign and has once again proving to be the Reds’ talisman.

And yet any time Salah is discussed or praised, the topic of his future arrives with it often taking the limelight away from what everyone should be talking about – his performances on the pitch. Ultimately, even though he has not directly expressed his desire to stay, the final decision is with Liverpool.

He has been at the club since 2017 and will likely want to reach a decade of service. Salah is also showing no signs of slowing down and thus it seems a rather easy contract extension call.