Liverpool’s ‘clear’ stance on Mo Salah revealed as Ornstein states what star must do to force exit

Liverpool have absolutely no intentions of letting Mohamed Salah leave Anfield in the January window or indeed next summer, according to David Ornstein, though with his agent flying in for crisis talks with the club’s top brass, the situation could soon be about to change.

The Egyptian superstar jets off to the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday with supporters not knowing if they have seen their legendary star in Liverpool colours for the final time. Restored to the matchday squad on Saturday during the 2-0 win over Brighton, Salah looked emotional as he took a lap of honour from the crowd at the full-time whistle.

Having told the media after the recent 3-3 draw at Leeds that he feels someone at the club wants him gone and that he has been “thrown under the bus”, it is not yet clear if Salah’s comments were engineered to force the club into his sale, just a matter of months after they made him the highest-paid player in their history on a whopping £400,000 a week deal.

And while our transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey has exclusively revealed that Salah is refusing to accept a place back among the Liverpool substitutes, those with knowledge of the situation at Anfield are adamant that the club do not want him to leave.

And speaking on NBC Sport, the ultra-reliable David Ornstein insists the Reds are making it clear they do not want to lose their talismanic star, and feel happy to honour the two-year contract extension he signed back in April.

“As I understand it, Liverpool fully intend to keep Mo Salah,” Ornstein said.

“They want him to remain, not only in the January transfer window but beyond, until at least the end of the season.

“He’s under contract until the summer of 2027 and Liverpool feel that they showed their intentions very clearly by renewing him at great expense back in May.

“I think their view would be this has been brought about by Salah and his desire to be guaranteed regular football, and that’s not something that any club, certainly not Liverpool, despite the legendary status of Salah, are going to be willing to deliver.

“And that seems to be at the heart of this, at the centre of discussions, which Arne Slot said began before Leeds.

“So this wasn’t the great shock to Liverpool that some have made out – what was surprising was that he spoke out after Leeds and that forced them to act.”

Revealing what Salah must do next if the player truly wants to leave Anfield, Ornstein continued: “However, they still feel the ball is in his court to decide what he wants to do here.

“If he really does want to go, is he going to come forward with some proposals?”

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Six league scramble to sign Salah, as agent jets in for talks

Ornstein’s comments come after the well-informed Fabrizio Romano also revealed Liverpool fully intent on keeping Salah, but with his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, due to fly into Merseyside for crunch talks with Liverpool’s top brass to determine the 33-year-old’s future.

“What’s going to happen is that in England, the agent of Mo Salah, Ramy Abbas Issa, will have conversations with the Liverpool management to discuss the situation of Mo,” Romano stated.

“So after he was out of the squad against Inter and then back against Brighton and delivering an assist, breaking another record… now it’s going to be time for Salah’s agent to talk to the club and to take a decision together on what’s going to happen next.

“Again, guys, I maintain my information on what Liverpool believe. They say ‘we are not in a hurry to sell Salah or find an [exit] solution for Salah, if he wants to stay in these conditions then we’re more than happy.’

“If he wants to go, which he was maybe suggesting in the interview, but it wasn’t even that clear, but was insinuating, let’s say it like this, Liverpool say ‘okay, let’s bring a proposal to the table, show us the proposal and this could be the topic, let us know what you have for us.’

“But at the moment, no official proposals apart from Saudi interest arrived on Liverpool’s table for Salah.

“So this is also why there’s going to be a meeting with his agent to try and understand how to move forward.”

Liverpool’s aim from those talks will be simple: to try and convince Abbas that his client’s future should remain on Merseyside, and if not, what they propose to do to get him out of his contract that still has 18 months left to run.

As far as next destinations go for the player, we exclusively revealed earlier this week that Abbas and his camp have received enquiries from teams across six different leagues for the 33-year-old superstar.

As we previously revealed, the owner of San Diego FC, Sir Mohamed Mansour, would like to bring Salah to America, but they do not believe there is any prospect of putting together an offer.

We can also reveal that clubs in France, Italy, Germany and Spain have reached out to understand the situation of the Liverpool man.

However, none of those would be able to match the financial package that clubs in Saudi Arabia would be able to offer and amid claims they are prepared to offer the player a package worth in excess of £1m (€114m, $134m) a week.

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Liverpool latest: Konate, Van Dijk make Salah plea; 13 team Marc Guehi scramble

In light of the current Salah saga, a number of his teammates have spoken out on his future over the weekend.

Firstly, Ibrahima Konate has leaked to the French media whether he expects Salah to stay or go during the January window.

Hugo Ekitike has also spoken out on Salah’s future after the striker made clear his appreciation and admiration for the Egyptian, and with Arne Slot having also addressed their determination to retain his services.

Perhaps, though, the final word should go to Virgil van Dijk, who has made a huge double revelation about the 33-year-old, and having revealed why other ‘parties may be at play’ over his teammate’s future.

Elsewhere, sources have named all 13 sides to have made contact with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi over a 2026 switch, and while the Reds remain very much in the hunt, the England defender’s plans have been made clear amid a very open transfer scramble.