Salah to stay at Liverpool? Carragher drops biggest reason yet why star will sign new Reds contract

Jamie Carragher is adamant that Mo Salah will stay at Liverpool for next season and beyond. After explaining what gets the star’s “juices flowing,” he dropped the biggest reason yet why he will sign a new deal.

The Egyptian star has proved an absolute bargain of a signing for Liverpool, smashing in at least 23 goals every season since signing from Roma for a modest £36.9m in summer 2017. Already on seven goals from 11 appearances this season, the attacker has quickly returned to his very best form under new coach Arne Slot.

Yet in just over eight months’ time, Salah will be out of contract at Anfield and eligible to join a club of his choosing as a free agent. Furthermore, he can even sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas side from January 1 – just 72 days from now.

However, Carragher is adamant that Salah has some big reasons to hang around and has pinpointed the records that Salah is closing down on as a big reason to stay and sign that new deal.

His strike from the penalty spot in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea takes him to 162 Premier League goals, level with former Tottenham and England striker Jermain Defoe on the all-time list. The 32-year-old though is now just 13 behind Thierry Henry in seventh and 15 adrift of sixth-placed Frank Lampard.

“He’ll have an eye on Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard by the end of this season, I would imagine, and I think stats like this are one of the biggest reasons why Mo Salah will sign a new contract at Liverpool,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“Of course, they’ll be talking about money and length of contract, but I think these are the things that really get the juices flowing for Mo Salah. He breaks all the records at Liverpool, and getting as far as he can up those lists, I think that’s a big part of his focus as a player.”

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Salah still has a long way to go before he can overhaul Alan Shearer (260) in top spot, but he is now just one behind Robbie Fowler’s 163 from becoming Liverpool’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer in the Premier League.

And with 218 goals in 360 appearances for the Reds, the signing of a new deal at Anfield can also see him overhauling Billy Liddell (228), Gordon Hodgson (241) and Roger Hunt (285) up to second. It might be some ask to overhaul Ian Rush in top spot though; the Welshman smashed in 346 goals across two spells and 660 appearances.

Salah’s scoring rate though is a goal every 1.65 appearances. Rush by contrast netted a goal every 1.9 games – meaning the Egyptian is well on the way to beating that record, though it may require him to hang around for a few more seasons yet.

In the meantime, Salah has said very little about extending his stay and has yet to speak in public since last month on Sky Sports after the 3-0 win at Manchester United: “I was coming to the game, I was saying, ‘look, it could be the last time’.

“Nobody in the club talked to me yet about contracts so I was just like, ‘OK, I play my last season and see at the end of the season’. I feel I am free to play football – we will see what happens next year.”

Since those comments were made, TEAMtalk understands that Salah has since rejected Liverpool’s initial proposal to sign a new deal and there still remains a serious chance the Egyptian could depart as things stand.

Of course, that could just be a play to secure himself more cash at Anfield and his agent, Ramy Abbas, will understandably be looking to maximise his client’s full earning capacity.

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One man tipped to replace Salah at Anfield were he to depart is Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo. The Cameroon international has started the new season in brilliant fashion, with six goals in eight matches, but is out of contract in 2026, though, the Bees do have the option to extend that by a year.

As a result, they may be forced to sell him in summer 2025 if he does not extend. However, instead of Liverpool, a move to another top Premier League side has been tipped instead.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly battling Manchester City for the signing of Brighton star Facundo Buonanotte, who is currently shining on loan with Leicester from the Seagulls.

The Argentine has already matched his best goals and assists tally in the Premier League, and it’s reported both Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola feel he can slot in very nicely into their sides amid claims a £25m offer could tempt the Seagulls into business.

One man slotted to leave Merseyside, though is No.2 goalkeeper Caiomhin Kelleher, who admitted earlier this season at his frustration at the Reds’ signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili.

With the Georgian due to arrive next summer and having already made his intentions clear about being No.1, Kelleher has now doubled down on his claims that he needs to leave Liverpool.

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