Double-edged comment casts doubt on star man’s Liverpool future

Liverpool Sadio Mane Roberto Firmino Mohamed Salah goal celebration v West Brom, May 2021

The future of star forward Mohamed Salah has once again been thrown into doubt following a cryptic tweet by his agent during Liverpool’s victory over Norwich City.

The Reds kicked off their 2021-2022 campaign with a routine victory over the Canaries at Carrow Road. In front of a packed stadium, Diogo Jota gave the visitors a 1-0 half-time lead. Substitute Roberto Firmino doubled their advantage after the break before Salah made it 3-0.

The Egypt international selflessly teed up Firmino for the second when he could have taken a shot himself. It was an excellent all-round display by the Merseysiders against a side that are likely to battle relegation.

Salah has two years left on his current Anfield contract. He has been linked with a move away over the past couple of years, with Real Madrid said to be interested.

Reports claimed his relationship with manager Jurgen Klopp had broken down. That has been denied but rumours of a possible exit will not go away.

Liverpool boss Jurgen klopp pre-season friendly Anfield August 2021

And after the former Roma man had scored, his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, took to Twitter to stir things up. He tweeted: “I hope they’re watching.”

The tweet is likely to refer to the Liverpool board who are being urged to discuss a new deal for the African. But it could also be aimed at Los Blancos, who will doubtless be monitoring the situation both on and off the pitch.

The latter seemed well in order in East Anglia. Salah’s all-round contribution was outstanding and suggested there is much more to come this term.

Salah shines but Van Dijk just glad to be back

Virgil van Dijk made his long-awaited return after a lengthy injury absence. And he looked solid at the heart of defence for Klopp’s side.

The Netherlands international will face tougher tests throughout the campaign as Norwich posed little threat. He was delighted to be back on the pitch and acknowledged that there is still much work to be done.

“Excited, very happy obviously to start the game, to get the three points, win 3-0 away, a clean sheet. Obviously you can’t ask for more,” he told the club’s official website.

“There are obviously still many things to improve but we are early in the season. I’m still getting up to speed so these are the only moments where you can really improve as well.”

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