David Ornstein has suggested that ‘crucial times’ lay in store for Liverpool as they try to address any lingering speculation over Mo Salah’s future at Anfield.
The Egyptian was the subject of a gargantuan £150m offer from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad at the end of the summer transfer window (The Guardian), but the Reds rejected it out of hand and he’s since gone on to score 18 goals already this season (Transfermarkt).
In a Q&A for The Athletic, the journalist was asked for updates on any progress regarding the 31-year-old’s contract on Merseyside, which is currently due to expire in June 2025.
Ornstein replied: “Even though January is expected to be a fairly quiet transfer window at Anfield, it’s not the easiest time to start transfer talks and, in the case of Salah, he is busy focusing on AFCON.”
He later added: “Naturally, given what happened last summer with Saudi Arabia, Salah feels like the most uncertain/unpredictable, but as I’ve said here before: some have suggested to me that Salah still has the appetite to continue competing at the top level of European football with Liverpool, so a departure is not certain at all. Crucial times ahead.”
Liverpool fans will understandably be eager for the club’s powerbrokers to sort out Salah’s future as soon as possible so that any fears over his departure can be put to rest.
While some links of an exit from Anfield persist this month, they’re not of anywhere near the same intensity as last summer, and the paradox of the Reds being without him for the Africa Cup of Nations is that his participation in the tournament has likely contributed to January transfer rumours being comparatively muted.
Ornstein’s update suggests that the Egyptian won’t be banging on the door to beg for a big-money move to the Middle East, and as of now there isn’t a need for supporters to panic about him possibly walking away for free in 18 months’ time.
It’s worth remembering that Salah was about to enter the final year of his Liverpool contract just before he penned his most recent extension at the club in July 2022, so that could offer a projected timeframe as to when LFC chiefs might be hopeful of securing another agreement with the 31-year-old.
The situation is unlikely to be addressed until he returns from AFCON, but there’s still plenty of grounds for optimism that the Reds will keep hold of their talismanic forward beyond the summer of 2025.