Liverpool and Rodrygo could finally get what they both want if Mohamed Salah is right“I’m probably more out than in.” Nearing the final six months of his contract, Mohamed Salah is well aware that, as things stand, his Liverpool career is slowly edging towards its end.
He wants to stay, of course. While supporters, coaches and team-mates alike all hope that he is still plying his trade at Anfield next season. But the Egyptian’s public admittance that he is yet to receive a formal offer from the club – and is consequently disappointed with his situation – was enough to set alarm bells ringing.
It is understood that there remains a willingness on both sides to reach an agreeable conclusion, with discussions that are said to be positive and constructive ongoing with Ramy Abbas, the Colombian lawyer who represents Salah.
But that does not alter the fact that in just 35 days, the 32-year-old will be free to agree a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs. In little over six months, as things stand, he will become a former Liverpool player.
In an ideal world, a resolution is reached between club and player. But Reds bosses will also have to be conscious of the possibility that they could be in the market for a replacement for their long-serving Egyptian King next summer.
And if so, they might well have to take a small step outside of their comfort zone. Rather than purchase potential, they would need a finished article to replace a player who has returned 223 goals and 97 assists – and counting – from 367 appearances since 2017 while winning every major honour along the way.
Whoever is called to fill Salah’s shoes, whenever that might be, will be handed the most unenviable and impossible job accompanied by the most intense pressure.
Liverpool have avoided such a cloud when targeting successors for the two departed members of their famous attacking trio – Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Luis Diaz was brought in from FC Porto six months before the Senegalese’s exit to Bayern Munich, while both Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo were brought in in the two windows prior to the Brazilian’s own departure.
Making step ups from Liga Portugal and the Dutch Eredivisie respectively, the trio were given time to bed in quietly alongside the players they would eventually replace. By the time Mane and Firmino departed, their feet were already firmly under the table as they side-stepped any potential scrutiny completely.
Salah’s would-be successor will be afforded no such liberty, should he depart next summer, given the forward’s expiring contract status remains a dark cloud overhead.
Liverpool have been linked with a number of possible replacements for the Egyptian over the years, with it recently reported by the Times that former manager Jurgen Klopp had even suggested Manchester United flop Antony before Salah signed his last contract extension back in 2022.
The 32-year-old’s longevity has ensured that the Reds bosses have so far not needed to push the button on a potential successor. But the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Raphinha and Leroy Sane have regularly been speculatively touted over the years.
