So now Mohamed Salah, to adapt his own phrase, is very much more in than out. All it took, it seemed, was for the Egyptian’s goals to dry up for the first time in a remarkable season for Liverpool to present Salah with a contract he would sign. Maybe Salah’s occasional willingness to go public in frustration has been justified.
Or perhaps Liverpool’s quiet approach has. Saying nothing in public did not equate to doing nothing in private. With Salah signed up and Virgil van Dijk making progress in his own contract talks, director of football Richard Hughes may conclude that two out of three isn’t bad.
Much of Hughes’ inheritance was enviable. Three expiring contracts provided the hospital pass. The apocalyptic scenario was that Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold would all go, leaving Liverpool with a huge bill to rebuild their side and, almost certainly, a weaker team next season. Even Salah’s recent dip in form has outlined his importance: when he stopped scoring, Liverpool started losing. He will not be a pauper with his new deal but Liverpool’s cost-conscious owners clearly decided the false economy would be to let him leave on a free transfer.
Their reluctance to give lengthy contracts to thirtysomethings has been justified by the fortunes of Salah’s peers. Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson are not the forces they once were, and are not burdens on Liverpool’s wage bill. Salah and Van Dijk can be the exceptions to every rule, however. The forward’s new deal will take him up to his 35th birthday. But – and despite the stutter in the last month – he is having a career-best campaign in his thirties; in more ways than one, given that he has 32 goals to accompany his 22 assists.
It is unlikely to earn him the Ballon d’Or; Liverpool’s relatively early Champions League exit and his own underwhelming display against Paris Saint-Germain should see to that. But he would still have bordered on the irreplaceable. In part, because of a consistency that has meant Salah has had no off-year in eight seasons at Anfield, but also because his departure would have required a new configuration of the forward line; he has been so good that two top-class players would be needed to compensate.
As Arne Slot put it, simply but effectively, “what makes him special is he scores goals”. And far more than anyone else. Luis Diaz had a scoring spell in autumn and Cody Gakpo has produced the best form of his Liverpool career, but each could accelerate in Salah’s slipstream, when he was setting such a pace in the goalscoring charts that it rendered it easier for others to follow.
Now Salah’s stay at Liverpool will extend to a decade. He could reach 300 goals in their colours. The status of Liverpool’s greatest player generally comes down to debates about the merits of Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish. Salah is giving himself a greater chance of entering the conversation as an equal.
And his motives have never been purely financial, not least because he already earns a lot. Outsiders concluded Salah and Saudi Arabia made sense; he rarely seemed to. When Liverpool rejected a £150m bid two years ago, they did not merely get Salah for another two years but a further four.
He wanted to stay; his complaints when he felt the club were too small to facilitate that showed as much. Salah may have been astute enough to realise that he was already in a desirable position, with one of the world’s best teams built around him. The grass was not greener elsewhere. Meanwhile, a manager who tried to bore everyone into submission by not talking about contracts started to suggest that he was eager to keep his top scorer.
Now there is no doubt that Slot got what he wanted: a vote of confidence from the forward in the new manager. Salah and Jurgen Klopp were very good for each other, despite the fractious end. Slot has spared Salah some defensive duties – aided by Dominik Szoboszlai’s ability to cover vast amounts of ground – and has been repaid with goals.
Perhaps his recent relapse does indicate, however, that Salah cannot sustain his brilliance for entire campaigns, and he tends to make flying starts. It is a method that is propelling Liverpool to the title, and after the defeat to Fulham, he has now provided a timely boost to morale.
It may mean in future that Salah’s minutes have to be rationed to keep him fresher for longer. Both Slot and Klopp have tended to take the view that his thirst for goals is such that they would rather keep him on. But now Liverpool are keeping Salah on in a different sense. And amid the delight, there may be a sense of relief.
So now Mohamed Salah, to adapt his own phrase, is very much more in than out. All it took, it seemed, was for the Egyptian’s goals to dry up for the first time in a remarkable season for Liverpool to present Salah with a contract he would sign. Maybe Salah’s occasional willingness to go public in frustration has been justified.
Or perhaps Liverpool’s quiet approach has. Saying nothing in public did not equate to doing nothing in private. With Salah signed up and Virgil van Dijk making progress in his own contract talks, director of football Richard Hughes may conclude that two out of three isn’t bad.
Much of Hughes’ inheritance was enviable. Three expiring contracts provided the hospital pass. The apocalyptic scenario was that Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold would all go, leaving Liverpool with a huge bill to rebuild their side and, almost certainly, a weaker team next season. Even Salah’s recent dip in form has outlined his importance: when he stopped scoring, Liverpool started losing. He will not be a pauper with his new deal but Liverpool’s cost-conscious owners clearly decided the false economy would be to let him leave on a free transfer.
Their reluctance to give lengthy contracts to thirtysomethings has been justified by the fortunes of Salah’s peers. Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson are not the forces they once were, and are not burdens on Liverpool’s wage bill. Salah and Van Dijk can be the exceptions to every rule, however. The forward’s new deal will take him up to his 35th birthday. But – and despite the stutter in the last month – he is having a career-best campaign in his thirties; in more ways than one, given that he has 32 goals to accompany his 22 assists.
It is unlikely to earn him the Ballon d’Or; Liverpool’s relatively early Champions League exit and his own underwhelming display against Paris Saint-Germain should see to that. But he would still have bordered on the irreplaceable. In part, because of a consistency that has meant Salah has had no off-year in eight seasons at Anfield, but also because his departure would have required a new configuration of the forward line; he has been so good that two top-class players would be needed to compensate.
As Arne Slot put it, simply but effectively, “what makes him special is he scores goals”. And far more than anyone else. Luis Diaz had a scoring spell in autumn and Cody Gakpo has produced the best form of his Liverpool career, but each could accelerate in Salah’s slipstream, when he was setting such a pace in the goalscoring charts that it rendered it easier for others to follow.
Now Salah’s stay at Liverpool will extend to a decade. He could reach 300 goals in their colours. The status of Liverpool’s greatest player generally comes down to debates about the merits of Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish. Salah is giving himself a greater chance of entering the conversation as an equal.
And his motives have never been purely financial, not least because he already earns a lot. Outsiders concluded Salah and Saudi Arabia made sense; he rarely seemed to. When Liverpool rejected a £150m bid two years ago, they did not merely get Salah for another two years but a further four.
He wanted to stay; his complaints when he felt the club were too small to facilitate that showed as much. Salah may have been astute enough to realise that he was already in a desirable position, with one of the world’s best teams built around him. The grass was not greener elsewhere. Meanwhile, a manager who tried to bore everyone into submission by not talking about contracts started to suggest that he was eager to keep his top scorer.
Now there is no doubt that Slot got what he wanted: a vote of confidence from the forward in the new manager. Salah and Jurgen Klopp were very good for each other, despite the fractious end. Slot has spared Salah some defensive duties – aided by Dominik Szoboszlai’s ability to cover vast amounts of ground – and has been repaid with goals.
Perhaps his recent relapse does indicate, however, that Salah cannot sustain his brilliance for entire campaigns, and he tends to make flying starts. It is a method that is propelling Liverpool to the title, and after the defeat to Fulham, he has now provided a timely boost to morale.
It may mean in future that Salah’s minutes have to be rationed to keep him fresher for longer. Both Slot and Klopp have tended to take the view that his thirst for goals is such that they would rather keep him on. But now Liverpool are keeping Salah on in a different sense. And amid the delight, there may be a sense of relief.