Mohamed Salah has clear options and Liverpool know what they cannot afford

Mohamed Salah appears no closer to resolving his future at Liverpool as he prepares to enter the final 14 months of his current deal on Merseyside.

The 31-year-old Egyptian has been linked with a mega-money move to the Saudi Pro League and last September Liverpool rejected a bid of £150million from Al-Ittihad, who had recently added Karim Benzema, N'golo Kante and Salah's former Anfield team-mate Fabinho to their ranks in a summer spending spree that surpassed £100m.

Salah, who has fired Liverpool to third in the Premier League this season with 17 goals in 26 matches, is contracted at Anfield until June 2025 after signing the most lucrative three-deal in the club's history in 2022.

As the transfer window prepares to open though, he continues to be linked with a move away from Anfield, with one former Red recently advising the Egyptian that this summer would be the perfect time to move onto pastures new as the club prepare for life without Jurgen Klopp.

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In June, Salah will enter the final 12 months of his Anfield contract. Here, the ECHO takes a look at all the news surrounding his future on Merseyside.

What has Mohamed Salah said about his future?

Unsurprisingly, Salah and his team have been coy and provided no updates when it comes to his future at Liverpool.

On the face of it, that might come across as a worrying sign but with Liverpool in the thick of a three-way battle for the Premier League and the club yet to appoint Jurgen Klopp's successor, it is little surprise that all parties appear to have halted talk of a possible contract extension until the off-season.

The only clarity that the Egyptian has given on his future is that his decision won't be impacted by Klopp's departure, with Salah telling Sky Sports in March that he will leave the club in his own time.

"It's part of life now, that everything moves," said Salah. "Players have left already, very important players. The manager is also very important for the club and is leaving. One day I will leave the club, but no [Klopp leaving doesn't affect my future]."

What has Jurgen Klopp said about Mohamed Salah's future?

Similarly to Salah, Klopp has been coy on the future of Liverpool's No.11. That, though is fairly unsurprising given that the 56-year-old German won't be at the club by the time Salah's future will be decided at the end of the season.

However, when asked about the forward's future last September in the aftermath of an eyewatering bid from Al Ittihad, Klopp was keen to stress Salah's commitment to Liverpool: “I never had any doubt about his commitment to this club," said the Reds boss.

"You can’t imagine how much fuss the world has made but how calm we are with it. He is our player and wants to play here. He didn’t tell me [that he wants to stay], but he didn’t have to. He speaks with his training and performances and behaviour.

"We had meetings this week, and the meetings were not about what we did in the past, it was about what we will do in the future."

What is the media saying about Mohamed Salah's future?

Earlier this week, former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique said that Salah should leave Anfield this summer as the club enters a period of transition in a post-Klopp era.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Enrique said: “If the right offer comes then I think Salah will leave because I think he was actually trying to leave last summer. They were offered something like £200 million for him last summer and that was a real offer!

“When you get an offer like that, usually it means there is already an agreement between the player and the club. I think Salah had already agreed to go and I believe that he will finally go to Saudi Arabia this summer.

“Jurgen Klopp is leaving so it is the perfect time for Salah to go. There is a new cycle happening at Liverpool and lots of changes, so it is perfect for him. This will likely be the final big contract of his career, so I think he’ll leave for Saudi Arabia.”

On who Liverpool could target to replace Salah, Enrique added: “Mohammed Kudus is someone that I think could be a replacement for Salah.

“Even last summer I would have said that and now of course he is playing really well for West Ham. You could also throw in someone like Ebere Eze from Crystal Palace, but there aren’t really any obvious replacements out there.

“Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich is a possibility because he is in a bit of situation with his contract there at the moment. He is the kind of name that they need to bring in and he could be an option.”

What teams have been linked with signing Mohamed Salah?

As per Sky Bet, Salah is 5/4 to move to any Saudi Pro League team by the end of the 2024 summer transfer window. Paris Saint-Germain [10/1] and Real Madrid [20/1] are the European favourites to sign the Egyptian with Bayern Munich and Barcelona [both 25/1] next on the list.

Will Salah leave Liverpool?

Speculation about Salah's future has rife since the turn of the year, but discussions about whether Liverpool should cash in on their talismanic figure have been more prevalent over the last month or so with the Reds' front-line drawing criticism for a lack of cutting-edge in recent games against Manchester United.

But whichever way Salah's season is dissected and analysed, the Egyptian has surpassed the 20-goal landmark for the seventh consecutive season at Anfield. It is quite the return for a player who has spearheaded Liverpool's success in the Klopp age.

Of course, it is in Liverpool's best interests to tie Salah down to a new three-year deal this summer. In fact, it should be the first point of call for incoming sporting director Richard Hughes and in some respects is perhaps more pressing than the appointment of a new manager at Anfield.

But whatever agreement Liverpool and Salah come to this summer - whether that is to continue his Anfield legacy or for both parties to shake hands and move - it is a more critical issue that must be resolved within weeks of the Premier League season finishing. Liverpool simply can't afford to be playing catch-up in the transfer market in the final weeks of August, especially at a time when there has been so much change behind the scenes.