Liverpool ‘caution’ over new Mo Salah deal as Reds legend shares bombshell news on cataclysmic double exit

Liverpool owners FSG are still to decide on whether to hand talismanic frontman Mo Salah a new contract at Anfield and are approaching discussions on his extension with ‘caution’ and amid a warning from a legendary Reds figure that he expects him and a high-profile teammate to depart next summer.

The Egyptian star is regarded by many as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time after blasting his way to an astonishing 212 goals for Liverpool in 350 appearances since a bargain £36.9m transfer from Roma in summer 2017. Now in his eighth season at Anfield, Salah is already off the mark this season after scoring in their opening day win over Premier League new boys Ipswich at Portman Road.

Taking into account his assists for the Reds too – which currently stands at 90 – the 32-year-old boasts a goal contribution for the Merseysiders at one every 1.15 appearances; a simply phenomenal record.

As a result, it’s little wonder that Salah is the highest-paid player in the club’s history; his current £350,000 a year deal signed back in the summer of 2022.

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However, with just a year left on his contract, speculation has arisen over what happens next for both player and club. And with his deal currently due to expire on June 30, 2025, as it stands Salah is slotted to leave Anfield at the end of the current season.

Interest in acquiring his services has not been in short supply over the years. Persistently linked with Real Madrid in his first few years on Merseyside, the last 12 months have seen the Egyptian the subject of major interest from the lucrative Saudi Pro League.

Mo Salah future: FSG showing ‘caution’ over handing star new Liverpool deal

Indeed, with Salah regarded as the greatest Muslim player of all time, it is easy to see why authorities in the Gulf State are so determined to bring the player to their country as the face of their game. And with wages on offer that would top the astonishing £1.3m a week paid by Al Nassr to Cristiano Ronaldo, Salah knows that his family would be set up for generations to come if he agrees a move to join his chief suitors, Al-Ittihad.

To that end, Liverpool resisted a mammoth £150m offer for his services last summer, with Jurgen Klopp adamant the Reds simply could not afford to let him leave, no matter the price.

Their interest in acquiring his services, though, has not faded and while a fresh bid for his services has not arrived this summer, they are widely expected to make a move to try and sign him as a free agent when his Liverpool deal ends in 2025.

FSG, though, know they can take matters into their own hands by offering the player a lucrative new deal to extend his stay on Merseyside further.

But while Salah shows no signs of slowing down, nor his ability to carve open the meanest defences fading, it’s reported that Liverpool’s owners are approaching the topic of an extension for Salah ‘with caution’.

Per The Athletic, Liverpool’s owners are unsure whether to give players in their thirties such hefty salaries and knowing they are very much in the autumn of their careers.

And while there has been an indication from the Reds to sit down and discuss an extension to another ageing star soon to be out of contract in Virgil van Dijk, there has been  ‘no hint of irritation’ from Salah’s camp over a new deal.

Liverpool duo determined for Salah to remain at Anfield

As a result, it’s believed that Salah is happy to wait and see how a new era at Anfield goes under the management of their new coach Arne Slot before committing to a new deal.

And with Fenway Sports Group also cautious about what sort of wages Salah would now command in light of the interest in him from Saudi Arabia, it seems all parties are happy to adopt a ‘suck and see’ approach over an extension.

One man who is extremely keen to continue working with him – and understandably so – is new Reds boss Slot, who marvelled at Salah’s display at Portman Road and feels the talismanic star has many more years ahead of him at the very top level.

“I see what he does to keep his body as it is to be ready to play every game, so I think there are many more years inside of him to play,” Slot stated after the 2-0 win.

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Salah set up the opening goal for Diogo Jota midway through the second half, before helping himself to one later on and awestruck teammate Andy Robertson stated: “Mo does everything right. He’s a model professional and someone everyone looks up to.

“He leaves no stone unturned and that’s why he’s still in incredible shape at the age he’s at. Long may that continue.

“Hopefully he keeps playing the way he did against Ipswich. He’s started the season really well. If our main man is playing like that, then it’s obviously going to help the team. Hopefully, it’s the first of many goals for us this season.”

Liverpool news: Reds icon drops bombshell double exit update

However, despite Slot’s wishes to retain Salah’s services, former Liverpool player and manager Graeme Souness has dropped the bombshell news that he thinks this will be the last season for both the Egyptian and his teammate Van Dijk at Anfield.

Tipping BOTH players to leave in summer 2025, Souness told talkSPORT: 

“For Van Dijk and Mo Salah – particularly Salah – Saudi Arabia has got to be attractive.

“Maybe he’s going to play another year and Van Dijk, at his age, maybe he’s thinking that.

“For Trent [Alexander-Arnold], would money be the biggest thing? No, given his age and the fact that he’s a scouser and if it was up to me he’d stay a bit longer.

“But the other two this might be their last year with their contracts running out.

“The lure of playing in Saudi Arabia will be enormous when you get to the wrong side of 30.

“If this is the last year of their contracts, I imagine they are running their contracts down to get the biggest payday they can possibly get.

“That would make sense for Salah and for Van Dijk, maybe the same.

“These conversations may have happened because it’s not the sort of thing that you want out.”

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Souness’ fellow pundit Simon Jordan fears Liverpool could pay for their lack of transfer activity so far this summer.

He commented: “It surprises me that Arne Slot hasn’t brought any players in because you would anticipate that he’d want to.

“Irrespective of the change of guard, he will be judged against Klopp and he will hear Klopp’s name being sung with banners of Klopp being shown all over the stadium until a time when he can eclipse it and put his own foot print on the club.

“You would think he’d want his own players. I think the players proved to not be where we thought they were at the end of last season as I thought they would carry Klopp home to do something meaningful and they didn’t seem able to.

“I think Salah is going to go at the end of the season, I’d be surprised if they didn’t try to do something with Virgil van Dijk, unless they think his legs are going  although I’m not sure that they are.

“Trent Alexander-Arnold, they’ll want to secure that. That feels differently to the other players.”