Mohamed Salah has proven to Liverpool this season why a contract extension should be a formality, according to Reds expert David Lynch.
Salah blanked for the Merseysiders in his side's 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday, but while the forward had a quiet evening, it is difficult to criticise him too much.
The Egyptian has played 28 times for Arne Slot this campaign and has either scored or assisted in 22 of those fixtures, producing 21 goals and 17 assists.
There is arguably no better player on the planet, and Lynch believes that the forward's form makes an extension to prevent him leaving for free in the summer remains the best course of action for Liverpool, telling Sports Mole: "If a couple of years is what [Liverpool are] looking at - which I think will be the length of the contract - it seems like an absolute no-brainer to get it done.
"Special player, and he's so desperate to stay and you look at the way he looks at the fans and the celebrations after goals - he loves it and he wants to stay. When you've got arguably the best player in the world at the moment wanting to stay, then Liverpool will surely get this one done."
Salah has repeatedly reiterated his desire to stay at Anfield, and it would be unthinkable to allow someone of his level to depart for free upon the expiry of his contract.
The stats: Why Liverpool must extend Salah's contract
The 32-year-old arrived on Merseyside at the start of the 2017-18 season and immediately hit the ground running, scoring 44 goals and registering 14 assists in 52 games in all competitions for the Reds.
Salah is on track to score 39 times and produce 31 assists should he play 52 matches for Liverpool in 2024-25.
In the Premier League alone, the attacker has produced 18 goals and 13 assists in just 19 appearances, and is on track to match Erling Haaland's 36-goal season for Manchester City in 2022-23.
While Lynch acknowledged that Salah will inevitably decline at some point, he also went to great lengths to highlight just how impressive the winger has been this season.
Lynch told Sports Mole: "The whole debate around his contract was about [whether a] decline was coming, and it will come we've got to acknowledge that it will happen at some point, but when you're performing at the level of someone who's [having the] best Premier League individual season ever, when you're matching those levels at this point, you're going to get at least another couple of good seasons out of Salah.
"You almost can't begrudge Salah leveraging his relationship with fans [for a new contract] because he's earned it through being an absolute phenomenon since he joined Liverpool and he still is playing at a level possibly even higher than he ever has."
Salah has now scored 175 Premier League goals and drawn level with Thierry Henry in the all-time goalscoring charts, and considering he is set to have his most productive season ever in the final third, Liverpool's hierarchy would be wise to keep the forward at Anfield.
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The cost of replacing Salah
Slot cannot afford to lose his talisman in the summer, especially as he has so far scored or assisted nearly 66% of Liverpool's total Premier League goals.
While there are undoubtedly forwards capable of scoring goals available to buy in the summer, it is hard to imagine that they would come in and provide the Reds with a similar level of output.
Additionally, there are few if any players that can claim to have as big an impact against the league's best teams as Salah considering he has scored 60 goals and registered 22 assists in 98 games against big six sides.
It should also be noted that though Liverpool's ownership may have reservations about renewing Salah on terms that would increase his already lucrative wages, reconfiguring the team to replicate his impact is likely to be significantly more costly.
There are few signs that Salah will slow down anytime soon, and if Salah continues his devastating form, then he may soon force the club to come to an agreement on an extension.
Lewis Nolan
