Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is allegedly willing to stay at Anfield beyond the summer transfer window if two conditions are met.
Following a summer transfer scandal in which he was the subject of a £150 million approach from Al-Ittihad, which Liverpool rejected, the 31-year-old has proceeded to rewrite history under Jurgen Klopp.
Salah scored the Reds’ third goal in their 6-1 Europa League victory over Sparta Prague on Thursday evening, becoming the first player in club history to record 20 goals in seven straight seasons.
With 206 goals and 92 assists in 336 appearances for Liverpool, just four players, Ian Rush, Billy Liddell, Gordon Hodgson, and Roger Hunt, have scored more for the club.
Salah’s contract situation has not changed since the summer of 2022, and as things stand, the ex-Chelsea and Roma player will be entitled to leave the club for free at the end of the 2024-25 season.
In March 2024, Mohamed Salah was photographed training with Liverpool. Photo credit: Reuters.
Such a situation is unfathomable for the Reds’ leadership, but they are bracing for summer bids from Public Investment Fund-backed Saudi Pro League teams, who have long identified Salah as their top transfer target.
A contract extension on Merseyside is not ruled out, and according to Football Insider, the 31-year-old would be happy to continue with Liverpool if he received a few assurances from the board.
According to the report, Salah wants to be kept informed about the club’s future plans and wants to know who their first-choice candidate is to replace Klopp, who will leave the Reds at the end of the season, though he has already stated that the German’s departure will have no impact on his decision.
Liverpool’s top target is Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen, whom they might face in the 2023-24 Europa League final, but Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Real Madrid are also interested in the Spaniard.
Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon and Julian Nagelsmann of Germany are potential candidates, and the Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group, have already begun to overhaul their executive department with the return of Michael Edwards.
The former Liverpool sporting director will begin work as FSG’s CEO of Football in June, supervising the search for a new head coach and managing the club through its transitional time.
Confirmation of Edwards’ return emerged this week, and the Merseyside club is now likely to complete the purchase of sporting director Richard Hughes, who recently left his position at Bournemouth.
Liverpool has been without a transfer guru since Jorg Schmadtke left at the end of January, and Julian Ward, Edwards’ successor, resigned after only one season.
Despite two muscle injuries before the turn of the year, Salah has 20 goals and 13 assists in 31 Liverpool games in 2023-24, including three of the Reds’ six goals against Sparta on Thursday.
Klopp’s team will face Atalanta BC in the Europa League quarter-finals next month, while Salah is set to remain in the starting lineup for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United.
