The longer Mohamed Salah’s contract situation goes on, the less confident Liverpool fans will feel.
The Egyptian is a star not only in the eyes of local Merseyside fans but also on the international stage. The Reds must keep him at all costs: that’s the common consensus.
The Fenway Sports Group may view it in a different way, leaving Salah free to select a football club of his choosing. If the management lets this scenario play out, it’ll be the biggest mistake of their lives. This is why.
Reliability
Jurgen Klopp has been integral to Liverpool’s success ever since he arrived at the club. Without the German manager, the style and philosophy of the team wouldn’t be the same and without those, the Champions League and Premier League trophies probably wouldn’t be in the cabinet. However, a lot of his success is a testament to the quality of his players. After all, he can only work with what he has.
In Salah, Klopp has an incredibly consistent striker who puts in strong performances week in, week out, as the Premier League statistics website highlights. Forget the 13 Premier League goals in 15 matches this season. Instead, consider the fact that he’s only failed to notch 20 or more league goals once in his four seasons at Anfield. Even then, he got 19. Or consider his assist tally, which stands at 44 in 173 games, the equivalent to around ten per campaign.
Overall, Salah manages to score a goal or create an assist in 88% of his Premier League games, reflecting the man’s insane reliability. He’s an ultra-consistent footballer, and as we all know, they’re awful hard to find these days.
The money factor
Part of the reason for the delay in offering Salah a new deal is the nature of his demands. Reports from TalkSport’s Marc Williams suggest Salah wants £400,000 a week. The figure is way off Liverpool’s typical wage structure, and to break it for the Egyptian will set a precedent for the rest of the squad.
But although it sounds like a lot of money, it isn’t relative to the amount they will need to spend to replace him. For example, Liverpool paid £45 million for Diogo Jota upfront, and the club can expect to pay double that in wages throughout the Portuguese player’s contract. A replacement of Salah’s quality will cost double the amount because he’s considered the best in the world right now.
Plus, there are zero guarantees that a recruit will hit the ground running, or that he’ll make the transition at all. As Bobbie Jackson points out on the MansionBet blog, even the top stars have flopped at one stage or another. How can Liverpool fans forget Fernando Torres’ move to Chelsea?
Don’t rock the boat
Speaking of Jota, the man has been brilliant since he arrived at the club, so much so that he has claimed Roberto Firmino’s place. A year or two ago, Firmino was ever-present because of his exceptional link-up play. Now, he must work hard to start a match, although as Neil Jones writes in Goal, this isn’t completely unhealthy for the manager.
The relationship between the front three is pivotal to Salah as Klopp won’t want to make any more wholesale changes. To bring in a new central striker alongside Sadio Mane and Jota could rock the boat while they take time to develop an understanding.
Phasing out three players that the club has relied on heavily must be done gradually, or else the repercussions will be huge. If Salah leaves now, two-thirds of the strike force will be different, and that’s scary for the club and its supporters.
On the surface, it seems like a straightforward decision. When you dig a little deeper, it’s more obvious that Salah must stay at Anfield. Hopefully, for Liverpool fans and followers of the Premier League, FSG will square away a deal ASAP.
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