Liverpool expect Mohamed Salah to stay this summer

Liverpool fully expect Mohamed Salah to stay this summer and are planning on the basis of him being part of their squad for next season.

The 31-year-old attacker is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and there has been increased speculation that he will leave.

But Salah has given no indication of wanting to exit, which marries with Liverpool’s desire, and it is anticipated he will remain at Anfield.

The Egypt international has continued to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia after Al Ittihad’s pursuit last summer, but the view in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) hierarchy is that Salah wishes to spend another campaign with Liverpool.

While their interest has not gone away, it is less aggressive than it was when the SPL was investing heavily in new signings last summer and Al Ittihad were targeting Salah to help spearhead their Club World Cup campaign.

If the forward does not extend his Liverpool terms or commit elsewhere, the SPL might prefer to focus on Salah in 2025 when he will be 33 and there would be no transfer fee.

His situation will be inherited by incoming sporting director Richard Hughes — along with the futures of captain Virgil van Dijk and his deputy Trent Alexander Arnold, whose deals expire at the same time as Salah’s.

These are among the matters to be addressed once the appointment of Arne Slot as manager Jurgen Klopp’s successor is finalised.

Klopp appeared to have a heated exchange with Salah when he was waiting to be introduced as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s draw at West Ham United.

However, there has been no suggestion of internal concern about the incident and even if there was an issue between them it is fairly irrelevant given Klopp’s impending departure.

Salah has excelled once more in 2023-24, accumulating 29 goals in 49 appearances for club and country across all competitions.

(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)