Q&A: Is Mohamed Salah headed for Anfield exit or is new Liverpool deal on radar?

Uncertainty over the future of Mohamed Salah shows no signs of abating after the Liverpool winger revealed there had been no offer to extend his contract which ends next summer.

After Sunday’s 3-0 victory at Manchester United, in which the Egypt international scored for the third successive match, Salah said: “Nobody in the club talked to me yet about contracts so I was just like, ‘OK, I play my last season and see at
the end of the season’.”

Salah is not the only Liverpool player whose current deal expires at the end of the season, captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are in similar positions, but he is the most high profile.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at the 32-year-old’s specific situation.

What is the current state of play?

After much speculation Salah signed his current contract in July 2022, 11 months before that was due to run out, which made him the highest-paid player in the club’s history on an estimated £350,000-a-week.

How has it got to the position he is in now?

That salary, and the fact he turns 33 in June, are considerable factors. Owners Fenway Sports Group are not in the habit of offering long, lucrative deals to players over 30 but there is an expectation exceptions can be made for Salah, 33-year-old Van Dijk or both. A summer of upheaval, with the departure of Jurgen Klopp and his entire backroom staff, plus the appointment of new sporting director Richard Hughes have diverted priorities elsewhere, namely the appointment of a new head coach in Arne Slot and the transfer window.

Could he actually leave for free next summer?

The prospect grows closer with every week which passes without a new deal being offered. A year ago the club turned down an offer from Al-Ittihad which was worth £150million and although it was rejected out of hand, their interest in bringing the world’s highest-profile Arabic player to Saudi Arabia has not lessened. However, there will be a number of other top clubs keeping an eye on a forward who last season became the first Liverpool player to score 20 goals in seven successive campaigns and whose form in the first three matches of the new season appears to show he lost none of his appetite or talent.

Will Liverpool let that happen?

It seems unthinkable the club will not at least make some attempt to keep Salah, even if it is on a shorter term. Now the transfer window has closed the expectation is Hughes will turn his attention to contracts and he effectively has three months to come up with a solution before the player can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club.

Is there a succession plan in place?

Replacing Salah, considering the transfer fee paid – which with add-ons came to about £44m – and his output, is virtually impossible even if Liverpool were prepared to break their transfer record, which seems unlikely. The Reds will hope they have bought themselves an insurance policy with the £10m signing of Italy international Federico Chiesa, who will have at least a season as Salah’s understudy. The club have high hopes for 18-year-old Ben Doak but even spending this season on loan at Middlesbrough is unlikely to elevate him close to where they need a replacement to be. Harvey Elliott has played there but does not have genuine pace and was converted into a midfielder under Klopp. West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen had his admirers under the previous Anfield regime but his age profile – 28 in December – probably counts against him. Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 24 in February, will have his pick of Europe’s top clubs should he want to leave but he will come with a huge price tag.