Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could be open to the idea of compromising on a contract extension of two years given the forward has long indicated that his clear preference would be to stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season.
The Egyptian notched another assist and another goal during his side's 2-0 win against Aston Villa last weekend and helped send Arne Slot's team five points clear the top of the Premier League table.
The forward has now produced a goal and assist in a single game in the Premier League on 35 occasions, the joint most alongside Wayne Rooney.
Salah's ridiculous consistency even at the age of 32 has fans worried about the impact of his potential departure given he has less than a year to run on his current contract, but Liverpool transfer expert David Lynch has said that the Egyptian's love of the club could help all parties reach a compromise, telling Sports Mole: "[Liverpool are] massively helped by the fact that Salah clearly wants to stay and he's made that clear repeatedly, and I think there's a few social media posts being put out by him and his agent that suggest they're just trying to nudge negotiations along but he clearly wants to stay.
"I still think there's a case to be made that Salah would sign [a two-year contract extension]. I think that gives him the end of this season, then another two seasons - he'll be right up there in the Premier League scorers list.
"I still think there's a there's a case to be made that they will reach that compromise on two."
The case for Salah to stay
If there was any doubt about Salah's commitment to the club then it would have surely dissipated by now considering he already has managed to score 10 goals and produce 10 assists in all competitions.
The Egyptian achieved this feat quicker than anybody else in Europe's big five leagues, and has also been involved in 20 of Liverpool's 39 goals this season, a staggering 51%.
Salah is also averaging the highest goals and assists per 90 figure in the Premier League in his entire career, and Lynch believes that the attacker's sheer output in the final third makes it imperative that Liverpool come to a contract agreement with their star forward, saying: "Liverpool cannot afford to lose him for basically the next two seasons.
"What [the club have] got to do is if it comes to the end of this season and they haven't found an agreement then the big question for the recruitment staff is [they've] got to go and find someone who's going to score these goals and get these assists for you next season, and I think you can pretty much guarantee that Salah is going to be at this level for at least next season.
"I think that surely that compromise is there to be found when you've got a player who wants to stay, he's playing at this level and you wouldn't be able to replace him. As good as Liverpool's recruitment is, that is an incredibly tough ask to replace him for next season and maybe even the season after that, so surely there's room for compromise there and to get it done because Salah just is showing repeatedly that he's one of the best players in the world still and you've got an impossible task to replace him for the coming seasons."
© Imago
Saudi Arabia remains an option
Salah's phenomenal outings this season have caught the eye and made a mockery of those who suggested he would experience a decline as he trickled into his thirties.
However, the passage of time will inevitably lead to a decline in his performance levels, and the key question for the Reds is whether they can afford to have the Egyptian on enormous wages if his output was to decrease.
Lynch told Sports Mole that given Salah's status as a star of the Arab sporting world, there would at least always be a market for the winger in Saudi Arabia should the time come to move the Egyptian on, saying: "Even if the PIF are rolling back their investment in [the Saudi Pro League], which is the suggestion at the moment, even if they are doing that there's still always going to be money there to get Mo Salah to Saudi Arabia, they're always going to want him no matter what because he's just he's just a huge figure.
"They will want him in that league as soon as humanly possible so I do think there's a case that [Liverpool] could use that get out, but knowing the way Liverpool work - they're so shrewd and they don't want to catch themselves out - they want to be careful. Will they feel they're able to rely on that?
"If [a three-year deal is] what [Salah's] absolutely desperate for and he is really pushing hard for that, then maybe they will lean on the Saudi interest and see that as a bit of a get out for them."
Regardless of whether Salah extends his time on Merseyside beyond the current campaign, fans will hope that he can continue his form and push Liverpool towards their 20th league title.
Lewis Nolan
