MOHAMED Salah remains one of Africa’s best football players. He’s a two-time African Player of the Year and one of Liverpool’s prized assets. But, there have often been rumours he wants out of the Anfield club, and Jurgen Klopp’s upcoming departure as manager could prove pivotal in the Egyptian deciding to take up a fresh challenge elsewhere.
Salah, 31, is still very much at the top of his game. He scored twenty-four goals and made thirteen assists from thirty-eight appearances in all competitions this term at the time of writing, and he remains Liverpool’s talisman. But when all is said and done, the Anfield giants have been knocked out of the Europa League, they’ve slipped away in the title race, and Klopp’s exit is imminent. A new era beckons, but Salah may question whether he wants to be a part of it after seven years with the club.
An immediate issue that would arise is whether Liverpool feel they can replace Salah if he was to call it a day at Anfield. One player they could target, a player that has been looked at before by the club, is West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen. The twenty-seven-year-old, who can play anywhere across the frontline, including in Salah’s right-wing position, has enjoyed a fantastic season in front of goal, with nineteen goals and nine assists registered. He will also be heading to Germany with England, with the Three Lions the favourites to win the tournament according to Euro 2024 betting online markets.
If conditions can be met and issues resolved, it is possible that Salah will be playing for a new club next season, even if it feels unlikely right now. However, what could be in the back of the minds of the powers that be at Liverpool is the contract situation that arose recently. It took a long while to get Salah to commit his future to the club, and they know that after this summer, there’s only one year left remaining on his current deal. So, there could be a school of thought that selling him now would be financially prudent and a better prospect than almost certainly losing him for free as a thirty-three-year-old when his contract expires.
If Klopp was staying on as manager, it may have been a completely different story, although contract disputes between Salah and the club arose during his tenure. Question marks remain over who will replace the legendary German manager, and there will almost certainly be an adjustment period, which may negatively impact Liverpool and their realistic ambitions and potential achievements.
Salah will also know that even when he turns thirty-two in June, he will have his pick of clubs, with the world’s best likely to be interested in acquiring his services for the next two to three seasons. Saudi Pro League outfits are also expected to return with huge financial packages to tempt him to join the project there. However, both Liverpool and the player himself have previously knocked back advances.