Michael Owen thinks that Mohamed Salah will stay and sign a new contract with Liverpool.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Owen said it would be a shock to see Salah leave The Reds.
“I would be surprised, I must admit, if Mohamed Salah left” said Owen.
“Why wouldn’t he stay? He’ll be getting a great offer.”
The 42-year-old thinks Liverpool’s current status as one of the best sides in world football means that Salah is already in the best place to shine.
“Where would you go now? There is nobody bigger than Man City or Liverpool at the moment,” the former Reds striker claimed.
“He’s certainly not going to go to anyone in the UK. Barcelona and Real Madrid aren’t currently the force of old. Paris Saint-Germain I can’t imagine, why would you want to go to the French league when you’re playing in the Premier League? The same goes for Germany. There is nowhere else.”
Owen also thinks that if Salah did want to leave, Liverpool wouldn’t be short of options to replace him.
“Every player is queuing up to come to Liverpool and Man City at the minute. If you’re there, I don’t know why you’d give it up,” the pundit said.
“I certainly can’t see any reason why he won’t say and I’d be surprised if there wasn’t an announcement soon.”
Let’s hope so Michael!
Back amongst the best
It’s an argument that certainly couldn’t have been made just a few short years ago. But the fact is that Owen is right, there a few places in world football that can currently match the environment at Liverpool.
Not only are The Reds winning things on the pitch, they’re making strides off it too.
Melwood was an almost mythical place full of history. Although it was heart-wrenching to see the club leave it, Liverpool had been in need of a new training ground for a while.
In the brand new AXA Training Centre, Liverpool players now have access to some of the best facilities in the world.
Anfield has also undergone huge improvements. It was once comparatively ramshackle when matched against new state-of-the-art stadiums such as The Emirates or the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.
But the recent and ongoing developments mean that the old stadium’s exterior and interior finally match its legendary atmosphere.
Klopp’s pulling power
The biggest draw of all though, is undoubtedly the manager. There surely isn’t a player on the planet who wouldn’t love to work with Jurgen Klopp.
It could be possible that Salah is looking for reassurrances that Klopp is willing to extend his own stay at Anfield.
The German stated prior to the weekend’s game against West Ham United that it was ‘still the plan’ to leave the club in 2024.
Should Salah and then Klopp leave the club in consecutive years, as their current deals suggest they could, it would leave a huge hole.
Of course, no individual is bigger than the club itself. But Klopp and Salah have been enormous parts of Liverpool’s success in recent years.
Having got there the hard way, Liverpool won’t want to relinquish their status as one of the biggest and best clubs on the planet easily.
It’s imperative that both Salah and Klopp’s contracts are sorted out as soon as possible.
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