Garth Crooks has reminded fans of the ever-present transfer threat posed by Saudi Arabia amid ongoing questions over Mo Salah’s future.
The Egyptian was in a devastating mood in the second-half of the Reds’ 4-2 encounter with Newcastle, being directly involved in 75% of the club’s goal contributions on the day.
“Salah was the difference between the two teams,” the former Tottenham man wrote in his column for BBC Sport.
“He scored a goal in open play, missed a penalty, scored a penalty and was involved in two assists.
“I said after their match against Burnley on Boxing Day that Liverpool will never have a better opportunity to win the title and must before Salah is tempted away into the Saudi Arabia sunset.”
Jurgen Klopp now faces life without his talismanic No.11 for the foreseeable future, with the AFCON set to kick-off from January 13 and run until February 11.
Keep hold of Salah if we can
Whilst Crooks did not specifically mention the possibility of a blockbuster exit this coming summer, it’s a potential eventuality the club must surely be preparing for.
Ideally, we’d hope a new contract is being cooked and prepared behind the scenes, or at the very least that we’re resolved to keep hold of the former Roma hitman regardless of what offer comes through the doors.
They say everyone has their price, but with no clear like-for-like on the market, it would be absolutely insane for us to seriously contemplate Salah’s exit in 2024.
A new signing in January or the summer that our Egyptian King could take under his wing for at least a year would soften the blow.
Though we’re not yet quite ready to say goodbye to the man who currently resides in sixth place in our all-time top scorers list.
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