There is less optimism about Mohamed Salah extending his contract at Liverpool because owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) view the prospect of renewing the Egyptian's deal on his preferred terms as a gamble, Reds expert David Lynch has suggested.
The winger grabbed the assist for Darwin Nunez's winner against RB Leipzig in the Champions League to help maintain Arne Slot's perfect record in Europe with the Merseysiders.
While Salah has shown little sign of slowing down having already scored seven times and assisted on seven occasions this term, there has been little movement in regard to news of the Egyptian extending his stay at Anfield, with the forward currently set to leave the club at the end of the season for free.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch was asked about whether Liverpool would give the winger an extension of three years, saying: "I would think they would possibly look at it and think even the second year is a gamble in terms of, again, it's getting to the end of this season, then it's having another season, then it's another season after that. Are you still getting this level of output from him? Even that second year feels like a gamble. So, to stretch to a third feels like a lot.
"So, yeah, there's just a few variables there for me that just make it really, really difficult for Liverpool to work through towards a three-year contract. So, I just feel like there'd have to be compromise there. But again, those negotiations are ongoing and what they can come up with, we'll have to see."
The "sticking point" for Salah extension
Lynch explained the complexities of extending Salah's stay at Liverpool, noting in particular the significant wages that the forward would command, the fact the club would prefer not to have a declining player on their books and that the player himself would rather leave the Reds for free when the time comes as opposed to being sold in his final year.
"The one sticking point for this, and the reason I'm less optimistic about this one than maybe the others, is the fact he is on £350,000 a week. And so, when it comes to contract talks there, if he wants another three years at that level, can Liverpool be certain that he's going to be producing at this level for another three years?
"And it's almost another four years, because if you think he has a three-year extension beyond what he's already got, we've still got almost the entirety of this season to go, and then another three. I think it's hard to imagine that he will still be at this level of output in another sort of four years time.
"I still think that Mo Salah's ideal situation is that he leaves to go [to Saudi Arabia] on a free, because it just makes more sense. I mean, I know personally that his representatives have kind of quietly said in the past that the ideal situation for Mo is to leave on a free rather than be sold in the last year of his contract, because, from their perspective, they would simply be leaving money on the table there, wouldn't they? Any fee that a Saudi Arabian club would have to pay for him to Liverpool would be money that gets taken out of his contract, essentially. So, that's where I think it's tricky."
Salah has long been courted by clubs in the Saudi Pro League and given the lucrative wages that they have offered stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, the Egyptian would certainly be able to demand an enormous salary from several clubs in the division.
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Compromises will be needed
Salah is arguably still among the best players in the Premier League, and given the level he is currently performing at, it would be a shame if the forward did not continue to showcase his world-class talents on the biggest of stages.
However, if the Reds legend is to stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 campaign, Lynch believes that a compromise must be reached on either his wages or the length of his contract.
"I just think there needs to be a compromise somewhere there because Liverpool don't want to end up in a situation where they're paying him for the goals he has scored rather than the goals he's going to score. So, that makes it trickier, and I think the compromise has to come somewhere, whether that is on what the wage is or the length of the contract, whether they can push down to two, or if Liverpool can even get him down to one, I'm sure they would probably be happy with that.
"That's where the negotiation is with that one, and that, for me, is why that just feels like the one that's the trickiest of [Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk] to get done. So, yes, it's difficult really for Liverpool to balance that.
"And Liverpool also can't really go into [negotiations] thinking, 'we're going to have the out of the Saudi Arabian money coming', because that project feels a little bit fragile. You don't exactly know where it's going. They don't spend as much as they did in that initial flurry. So, how much longer, is it possible they lose interest in it or whatever."
Considering Salah already has 14 goals and assists this season for the Reds, more than double that of Liverpool's next highest ranking player Luiz Diaz, allowing the Egyptian to leave the club in the next seasons without an adequate replacement could be seen as negligent.
Regardless of the distraction of contract discussion, Slot will hope that Salah can continue to produce on the pitch for him, including against Arsenal on Sunday at the Emirates in what could be a pivotal match in the title race.
Lewis Nolan
