Liverpool go into next season in the knowledge that Mo Salah is in the final year of his contract and that he could leave on a free next July.
As reported by The Mirror: ‘Liverpool have no concerns that Mohamed Salah will allow his standards to drop when he runs down his Anfield contract next season.
‘The Merseysiders are braced for the prospect of the brilliant Egyptian forward carrying out his threat to walk out of the club for nothing in 12 months after refusing to meet his demands for a double-his-money £400,000-a-week deal.
‘Senior sources at the club have confirmed they have gone as far as they can in negotiations with Salah’s camp without smashing their wage structure. And after selling Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich in a deal potentially worth £35million to break another contract stalemate, the Reds currently do not envisage the 30-year-old now initiating a compromise.
‘But the belief inside Anfield is that Salah is too much of a perfectionist to down tools. The former Chelsea and Roma star shared the Golden Boot with Tottenham forward Son Heung-min after netting 23 goals last season and won a FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA player of the year double for the second time in five seasons. Salah’s relationship with manager Jurgen Klopp remains strong despite the and his conduct throughout talks has been exemplary.
‘Liverpool ’s capture of Darwin Nunez in a deal that could cost £85million has maintained the potency of Klopp’s strikeforce. They have also signed Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho in a deal worth £5million plus add-ons. And 18-year-old Aberdeen right-back Calvin Ramsey was undergoing a medical on Saturday before completing a transfer that will see the Reds pay £4million and another £2.5million in easily achievable bonuses’.
It would be very much against the character of the Egyptian King to allow his standards to slip and to not put 100% into each game he plays for club and country.
However, it does also seem highly plausible that the 30-year-old will allow his contract to wind down if he doesn’t receive the wages that he wanted from the club.
It seems fair to assume another season of plenty of goals and assists from the No.11 that could well end with him leaving through the Anfield exit door on a free.