Mohamed Salah’s transfer U-turn and £150m bid speaks volumes amid Liverpool saga

Arne Slot is under enormous pressure to offer Mohamed Salah a new contract before it is too late for Liverpool.

The 32-year-old Egyptian has been a loyal player at Anfield since joining from AS Roma seven years ago. He helped the Reds to their first Premier League title in the 2019/20 season, and to the Champions League a year earlier. Despite approaching the final years of his career, Salah has shown he can still cut the mustard in the English top flight.

The forward has scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 12 Premier League games under Slot, taking his tally to 223 goals and 99 assists in 367 appearances across all competitions. However, Salah's contract expires at the end of the current season, and Slot and the Anfield elite have not yet offered him a new contract.

Interestingly, it is not the first time that Salah's future on Merseyside has been questioned. Al-Ittihad made a whopping £150million bid for the international superstar on deadline day in the 2023 summer transfer window, but Liverpool rejected the offer outright.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG were all keeping tabs on Salah in 2021 ahead of his latest contract extension at Liverpool. Although Salah previously admitted he could “one day” play for one of the La Liga giants, reports at the time also suggested the forward was considering a “dream” move to PSG.

Salah eventually dropped out to sign a new contract with Liverpool, with his old deal set to expire in 2023. Barcelona, ​​meanwhile, promised to sign the star on a free transfer last summer if his deal expired – but Salah made a dramatic U-turn on the decision and decided to commit his future to Liverpool in a big-money deal.

Salah will be free to talk to clubs in January should a new contract not be agreed, and given that he is still scoring goals for fun in one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world, the Egyptian should have little to no trouble securing a ​to find new ones. freer.

Salah recently revealed that he feels 'more on the outside than in' at Liverpool, but his intentions are clear: he holds the club close to his heart and wants to remain at Anfield for the foreseeable future. He recently explained: “We're almost into December and I haven't received any offers to stay at the club yet. I'm probably outside more than inside.

“You know I have been at the club for years. There is no club like it. But ultimately it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I have not yet received anything about my future.” I love the fans. The fans love me. Ultimately it is not in my hands, nor in the hands of the fans.'

However, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has branded Salah's comments selfish and explained that he should focus more on winning the Premier League than on a new contract. He told Monday Night Football: “Right now there's obviously a big difference in the valuation.

“What Mo Salah and his agent value themselves on, whether that's financially or in terms of contract duration, which is what Liverpool are doing. The reason Liverpool wouldn't have offered a contract yet is because Mo Salah will turn it down, so they're still always in conversation. I would like them to meet halfway, but I have to say that I am very disappointed in Mo Salah.”

He added: “The most important thing is that Liverpool win the Premier League. That's more important than any player, and if he keeps commenting or his agent keeps putting out cryptic tweets, that's selfish, that's thinking about himself and think itself.” not the football club.”

Salah is also not the only Liverpool star to find himself out of contract this summer. Captain Virgil Van Dijk and wing defender Trent Alexander-Arnold also see their current contracts expire in 2025. Van Dijk is said to be looking for a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2027, while Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid as first-choice right-back Dani Carvajal remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury.