Liverpool

Liverpool

Premier League • England

Mo Salah drops coy 11-word hint on Liverpool future as Alan Shearer jokingly trolls ‘terrible’ star

Liverpool superstar Mo Salah and, inset, Alan Shearer

Liverpool superstar Mo Salah and, inset, Alan Shearer

Mo Salah was put on the spot after Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Lille in the Champions League, providing an 11-word update on his future and with Arne Slot jokingly talking about a new one-year deal on a night the Egyptian broke another Reds record.

The Merseysiders remain 100% in the Champions League after goals from Salah and Harvey Elliott secured victory over the French side at Anfield after their 10 men dared to equalise through Canadian hot-shot Jonathan David. The latest win at Anfield means Liverpool are the first side to book their place in the last-16 of the competition and they will enter the next phase as one of eight seeded sides.

In scoring his goal, Salah became the first Liverpool player in history to score 50 times in Europe for the club, with 47 of those coming in 83 Champions League games for the Reds.

It also ended a run of three games without a goal – his worst of an incredible season – leaving Amazon Prime pundit Shearer to jokingly brand the star ‘terrible’.

Asked about his mini-drought, Shearer laughed: “Terrible wasn’t it, how dare he! The standards he’s set over the years here are incredible, and that’s what Liverpool needed and wanted, and it was a magnificent finish.”

Having set a new record, Salah was understandably the talk of the town, but not least owing to the fact that his contract situation still remains unresolved.

Strongly linked with moves to PSG and Saudi Arabia, the 32-year-old is already free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas side of his choosing.

Asked again about his future after the game by Amazon Prime and if he will still be around to score another 50 goals in Europe for Liverpool, Salah dropped a coy 11-word update: “I’m not sure about that, but I’ll give it my best!”

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Slot speaks out on Mo Salah as journalist plays down PSG talk

Reds boss Arne Slot, meanwhile, continues to play down any negative impact the contract impasse with Salah and his two Liverpool teammates, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, is having.

And the Dutchman has jokingly urged the players to all sign one-year deals if they like.

“If I look at the performance of the players, you have to say it is the opposite,” Slot said when asked by Amazon Prime about the scenario that expiring contracts often impact players negatively.

“I think Virgil [van Dijk], Mo [Salah] and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] have always reached a certain standard or above. So you can also look at it if we are able to extend them, maybe we should only do it for one year [Slot laughs] – so we have the same first half of the season again.”

Despite that, sources have told us that only two scenarios will play out for Liverpool and Salah this summer: either the player will sign a new deal at Anfield or a summer switch to PSG is on the cards.

And with Gary Neville revealing the outrageous terms Salah is requesting, talk of a move to France has gathered pace in recent days.

All the same, that speculation has been played down by a French journalist and PSG insider.

‘Mohamed Salah to Paris can be done, but it likely won’t happen as Salah is likely to stay at Liverpool He’s in talks over an extension,’ Tanzi wrote for L’Equipe.

Despite that, he insists PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, whom Salah knows well, will not give up easily on his efforts to sign the player, adding: ‘Paris will do everything to bring him in’.

Latest Liverpool news: Alexander-Arnold signing-on bonus; Slot on Zubimendi

Meanwhile, the Reds’ quest to keep Alexander-Arnold at Anfield beyond this season have already taken another downturn with the player having been offered what can only be been described as a staggering signing-on bonus to join Real Madrid, which ultimately may blow Liverpool out of the water.

Spanish reports also believe Florentino Perez is ‘on the verge’ of sealing his signing.

Elsewhere, Slot has also spoken out on how the No.6 role in his side is so important to the club, having opened up on their summer links to Martin Zubimendi and amid claims the Reds are ready to try hijack Arsenal’s planned summer signing of the Real Sociedad midfielder.

Speaking honestly about Zubimendi, Slot’s words will do little to dampen speculation that a fresh bid is on the cards.

And finally, whether Darwin Nunez is around to see in a second season under Slot remains subject to plenty of conjecture.

The Uruguayan is another player being linked with a move to Saudi and while our sources last week categorically played down the speculation, the Reds have been told they would be wise to cash in if a £100m offer came their way.

Liverpool’s top goalscorers in European competition

Mohamed Salah 50 goals Steven Gerrard 41 goals Sadio Mane 26 goals Roberto Firmino 24 goals Michael Owen 22 goals
Liverpool’s leading goalscorers in Europe