Liverpool know value of Salah – and that Covid has cut striker’s options
►Agent’s tactics over contract talks curbed by a lack of suitors ►Egyptian on brink of ‘insane’ century of goals in top flight
Jurgen Klopp had a typically graphic description of Mohamed Salah’s extraordinary goal feats as the Egyptian stands on the threshold of a series of Premier League landmarks: “Insane.”
“I didn’t know last week that when he scored the goal, he became the first player in history to score in the first game in five consecutive seasons. There’s a reason why no one did it. It’s really difficult,” the Liverpool manager added.
More significant milestones are on the immediate horizon. The Egyptian’s Premier League century may come today, when Liverpool host Burnley, Salah having struck 98 goals in 156 appearances since his first spell in England in 2013.
Two of those were in a Chelsea shirt. Salah is closing on treble figures for Liverpool after just 146 topflight fixtures. For perspective, Michael Owen reached that milestone in 185 league games, Robbie Fowler in 175 and, in the pre-premier League era, Ian Rush did so after 168.
If Salah scores four in his next two matches – the second of which is against former club Chelsea – he will equal the Liverpool strike rate of Roger Hunt. It can be argued he is already sure to eclipse him because many of Hunt’s early goals were in the old second division. “Breaking records is great and if there are any records out there he will know about it,” Klopp said. “He just has to play his football. When he works as hard as he does then there will come a situation where, with his quality, he can score and he will do that. He can set records in assists as well, just being around the goal. That’s Mo Salah.
“But I never told him he could be the one of the one, two, three biggest LFC legends ever because that is not what you go for. Records yes, but becoming a legend, people will judge you after your career. That’s fine. He is in a good mood and hopefully it can stay like this.”
One would imagine such extraordinary exploits send a compelling enough message about Salah’s enduring value to Liverpool without the need for a coded one. Evidently, the striker’s agent, Ramy Abbas, believes further reminders are necessary. When tweeting, “I hope they are watching” during the rapturous celebrations for Salah’s first Liverpool goal of the season against Norwich City last weekend, Abbas lit a fuse on social media while depriving his followers of further clarification on who “they” might be. The reasonable assumption is Abbas was referring to Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, further demonstrating an impatience for his client’s contract which runs until 2023 to be extended, and a hefty pay rise to go with it. FSG needs no such reminder of Salah’s worth.
His current estimated salary is £10.4million a year, comfortably among Anfield’s high earners, but shy of the biggest paid stars of Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St-germain and Real Madrid. The eyepopping wages recently agreed with Kevin De Bruyne (£20.8million a year) and most recently Jadon Sancho (£18.2million a year) may make Salah set the bar high during negotiations, which Klopp confirmed are ongoing.
“People can talk in the background, but with two years left you can imagine there are talks and that is it,” Klopp said. “Two things: Mo is obviously in a really, really good moment football-wise, mood-wise, how he behaves from the first day he came back was absolutely great.
“So we’re all adults, we’re all professionals, there are talks and when there is a decision we will tell you.”
The tone of Abbas’s tweet indicates the conversations have some way to go. Liverpool, often reiterating their need to live within their means, are eager for a resolution, but not in a position to take their contract renewals into inflationbusting stratospheres. They also know the world has changed since their star players effectively used La Liga interest as a bargaining tool.
A four-year deal of £300,000 a week, inclusive of a £150million transfer fee, would have cost Salah bidders £212million this summer.
Realistically, only Manchester City and PSG have the resources to meet the valuation and salary of a superstar of Salah’s class while he is under contract. In fairness to Abbas, his strategy for trying to hurry along the renewal process is not that different to that of the representatives of Jordan Henderson, who utilised the benefits of raising the pressure when eager for a renewal earlier the summer. The impasse was broken and after Klopp pledged “it will be sorted” it is now a question of when, not if, Henderson’s new deal is announced. Salah will be 31 by the time his deal ends. Given his excellence, professionalism and fitness, there is nothing to suggest he will have slowed down by then. On the field, Salah’s numbers are staggering. Off it, Liverpool and Abbas must endeavour to ensure the figures stack up to everyone’s satisfaction.