Mohamed Salah has played down expectations that he will imminently sign a contract extension and insisted that there is still a long way to go before a deal is struck.
The Egyptian starred for Arne Slot's Reds in an emphatic 5-0 against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, scoring once and providing two assists at the London Stadium.
Liverpool are now eight points ahead of second-placed Nottingham Forest and look to be unstoppable in their quest for Premier League glory.
However, fans' joy was tempered by concern that Salah could leave the club in the summer when he spoke about his contract situation in an interview with Sky Sports, saying: ""We are far away from [an agreement].
"I don't want to put something in the media and people start saying stuff, but nothing really has moved on. Now I am focused on the team and hopefully we win the Premier League."
Salah will be free to talk to clubs abroad in January and could agree to sign for them in the summer of 2025, and it is concerning that the Reds have allowed his contract to enter its final six months.
© Imago
Can Liverpool cope without Mohamed Salah?
Liverpool have scored 45 times in the Premier League this season in just 18 games - the most of any team in the division - and Salah has been directly involved in 30 of these goals.
His tally of 17 Premier League goals and 13 assists is the most in both categories, beating Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka respectively.
Across all competitions in 2024, Salah has scored 29 goals and produced 23 assists in just 44 games, the most of any player in Europe's big five leagues.
Additionally, the attacker has become only the second player to have reached 30 goal involvements in a single Premier League season in fewer than 20 appearances after Luis Suarez reached that total in 19 games in 2013-14, one more than Salah.
To their credit, Luiz Diaz and Cody Gakpo have scored 12 and 11 goals respectively for the Reds in all competitions, returns that show Liverpool have capable goalscorers across the frontline.
However, Salah has proven time and again that he is Liverpool's main man, and his contributions continue to earn the Reds the points they need to stay ahead of the pack in the title race.
It would be an unmitigated failure on Liverpool's behalf if they failed to get the Egyptian to sign a new deal given his outrageous form, and though they may have concerns about his longevity, there are few footballers that can claim to look after their fitness as well as the winger.
Lewis Nolan
