LIVERPOOL Salah has got staying power says Lawro
MARK LAWRENSON believes Mohamed Salah will still be a Liverpool player next season but admits a big-money offer from Real Madrid could be hard to resist.
Salah added another award to his burgeoning collection yesterday when he scooped the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
The Egyptian has bagged 43 goals in all competitions this season with 31 of those coming in the Premier League.
Real Madrid are expected to splash the cash during the forthcoming transfer window following a disastrous La Liga campaign and Salah is on their radar.
Lawrenson, above, does not think Salah will go.
“Unfortunately there’s been a history of player sales and that’s just how the football club is – but I really don’t see it at all,” said the ex-defender who made 241 appearances for Liverpool in the Eighties.
“He loves playing for Jurgen Klopp, he loves his team-mates and he gets the whole Liverpool thing.
“He’ll already be on big money. Unless Real Madrid say they’ll treble his wages I don’t think he’ll go, but I suppose you never really know.”
Roberto Firmino penned a new long-term deal on Sunday and Lawrenson thinks Klopp’s relationship with Salah could mean he follows suit. “If a player is on a five-year contract
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and says, ‘I don’t want to play for you’, then he gets sold,” he said. “But the manager has such a good relationship with his players – that’s the key to it. “Even with Philippe Coutinho, Klopp thought he might go last summer but he stayed. He did his first half of the season. “Klopp dealt with it unbelievably well. It was a case of the king is dead, long live the king. “When Coutinho left, I thought Firmino wouldn’t be the same player – but he’s been better. That not only tells you a lot about Firmino, it tells you a lot more about the manager.” Coutinho became the third most expensive player in history when he joined Barcelona in a £135million January deal. Salah is likely to command an even bigger fee should Liverpool decide to sell. “You’d have to start at £150m, that would be the first conversation, but Salah is probably worth even more,” he added.
“The thing with Liverpool is they’re used to it. Liverpool are a selling team. You’ve seen it with Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres and Coutinho.
“Basically the American owners let Klopp go and spend £30m, £45m or even £75m in Virgil van Dijk’s case. But along the line if they get a fantastic offer for a player and they can still recover, then they sell.
“Klopp is familiar with this sort of situation from his time at Borussia Dortmund. He lost players, usually to Bayern Munich, but didn’t moan.
“He realised that’s the way things are. That’s the same at Liverpool. They’re playing fantastic football – even neutrals love watching them – and still balancing the books. There aren’t many managers that can do that. If they were to lose Salah they’d bounce back – but I just don’t see him going.”
Liverpool are on the cusp of booking their place in the Champions League final having beaten Roma 5-2 in the first leg but Lawrenson says Klopp’s men face a tough task tonight.
“Liverpool have had hiccups and they’re going to have hiccups because their squad is nothing like their rivals’,” he said. “But on their day Liverpool can take anyone apart.
“It’s just a case of can you play that football week-in, week-out? Sometimes you need that bit of pragmatism.” ●MARK LAWRENSON is a Paddy Power ambassador. Read more at news.paddy power.com