Mohamed Salah has had a difficult few months on the pitch following the Africa Cup of Nations and injury, and it peaked against West Ham on Saturday when he was substituted late in the 2-2 draw.
There was clear disagreement between Jürgen Klopp and the 31-year-old. Klopp wanted to close the matter with the fact that they had quarreled in the dressing room, while Salah said “it would be a total fire if he spoke today”, when he passed the mixed zone. It should be understood that he said it with a twinkle in his eye.
That has led to speculation about Salah’s future as he soon enters the final year of his contract. There was a lot of interest in the attacker from the Saudi Pro League last summer, but he stayed.
Expect him to stay
David Ornstein in The Athletic reports that Liverpool FC expects Salah to stay at the club this summer as well, and plans to have him in the stable next season.
Salah has not indicated that he wants to leave, and expects to stay at Anfield.
He is still linked to clubs in Saudi Arabia, but according to Ornstein, the expectation there is also that he will have another season in Liverpool. The interest is still there, but not as aggressive as last summer when Al Ittihad were desperate to get the Egypt star before the World Cup for club teams.
Case for Slot and Hughes
Sporting director Richard Hughes appears to have got a new manager in place at Arne Slot, although this has not yet been officially confirmed. A possible conflict between Salah and Klopp is therefore not seen as a major problem internally, as Klopp only has three games left of his time at Anfield.
Rather, Salah’s future will be assessed by Hughes and the new manager, who must also find a solution to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk’s situations as they enter the final year of their contracts.
If Salah does not extend with Liverpool, it is expected that the clubs in Saudi Arabia will focus on Salah in the summer of 2025 when he can leave for free as the 33-year-old, without a huge transfer fee being required.
