MX23RW : Thursday, April 3 06:27:07| >> :120:17985:17985:

Mohamed Salah contract latest: Why Liverpool forward is making contract extension inevitable

'Best player in the world': Why Salah's form should make an extension inevitable
© Imago
Mohamed Salah's form is making a contract extension at Liverpool inevitable, and Arne Slot cannot afford to lose arguably the best player in the world.

Mohamed Salah has proven to Liverpool this season why a contract extension should be a formality, according to Reds expert David Lynch.

Salah blanked for the Merseysiders in his side's 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday, but while the forward had a quiet evening, it is difficult to criticise him too much.

The Egyptian has played 28 times for Arne Slot this campaign and has either scored or assisted in 22 of those fixtures, producing 21 goals and 17 assists.

There is arguably no better player on the planet, and Lynch believes that the forward's form makes an extension to prevent him leaving for free in the summer remains the best course of action for Liverpool, telling Sports Mole: "If a couple of years is what [Liverpool are] looking at - which I think will be the length of the contract - it seems like an absolute no-brainer to get it done.

"Special player, and he's so desperate to stay and you look at the way he looks at the fans and the celebrations after goals - he loves it and he wants to stay. When you've got arguably the best player in the world at the moment wanting to stay, then Liverpool will surely get this one done."

Salah has repeatedly reiterated his desire to stay at Anfield, and it would be unthinkable to allow someone of his level to depart for free upon the expiry of his contract.

The stats: Why Liverpool must extend Salah's contract

The 32-year-old arrived on Merseyside at the start of the 2017-18 season and immediately hit the ground running, scoring 44 goals and registering 14 assists in 52 games in all competitions for the Reds.

Salah is on track to score 39 times and produce 31 assists should he play 52 matches for Liverpool in 2024-25.

In the Premier League alone, the attacker has produced 18 goals and 13 assists in just 19 appearances, and is on track to match Erling Haaland's 36-goal season for Manchester City in 2022-23.

While Lynch acknowledged that Salah will inevitably decline at some point, he also went to great lengths to highlight just how impressive the winger has been this season.

Lynch told Sports Mole: "The whole debate around his contract was about [whether a] decline was coming, and it will come we've got to acknowledge that it will happen at some point, but when you're performing at the level of someone who's [having the] best Premier League individual season ever, when you're matching those levels at this point, you're going to get at least another couple of good seasons out of Salah.

"You almost can't begrudge Salah leveraging his relationship with fans [for a new contract] because he's earned it through being an absolute phenomenon since he joined Liverpool and he still is playing at a level possibly even higher than he ever has."

Salah has now scored 175 Premier League goals and drawn level with Thierry Henry in the all-time goalscoring charts, and considering he is set to have his most productive season ever in the final third, Liverpool's hierarchy would be wise to keep the forward at Anfield.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during his side's match against Tottenham Hotspur, on December 22, 2024© Imago

The cost of replacing Salah

Slot cannot afford to lose his talisman in the summer, especially as he has so far scored or assisted nearly 66% of Liverpool's total Premier League goals.

While there are undoubtedly forwards capable of scoring goals available to buy in the summer, it is hard to imagine that they would come in and provide the Reds with a similar level of output.

Additionally, there are few if any players that can claim to have as big an impact against the league's best teams as Salah considering he has scored 60 goals and registered 22 assists in 98 games against big six sides.

It should also be noted that though Liverpool's ownership may have reservations about renewing Salah on terms that would increase his already lucrative wages, reconfiguring the team to replicate his impact is likely to be significantly more costly.

There are few signs that Salah will slow down anytime soon, and if Salah continues his devastating form, then he may soon force the club to come to an agreement on an extension.

ID:562452:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6458:
Written by
Lewis Nolan

Mohamed Salah future - Click here for more stories

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring on January 25, 2025
Read Next:
Top Premier League goalscorers of all time
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool30227170274373
2Arsenal301710355253061
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest30176750351557
4Manchester CityMan City30156957401751
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle29155949391050
6Chelsea29147853371649
7Aston Villa3013984445-148
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton30121174845347
9Fulham3012994440445
10Bournemouth301281049381144
11Brentford30125135147441
12Crystal Palace29101093734340
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd30107133741-437
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs291041555431234
15Everton30713103237-534
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham3097143350-1734
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves3085174158-1729
18Ipswich TownIpswich3048183063-3320
19Leicester CityLeicester3045212567-4217
20Southampton3024242271-4910


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!