Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan has suggested that he is ‘expecting’ Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah to leave the club this summer to raise transfer funds after new contract talks have been revealed.
The Lowdown: Salah set for contract talks
The 29-year-old’s contract at Anfield is set to expire next summer alongside attacking partner Sadio Mane, but a Liverpool source told Football Insider just last weekend that the Egyptian is set for talks with the club about the possibility of signing a new deal which could be worth over £80m in total.
The same website previously confirmed that the Reds also plan to offer Mane a new deal, however, the Senegalese star is now said to be wanted by Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, so that’s another one of Jurgen Klopp’s star men whose future is up in the air.
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The Latest: Whelan expecting Salah to leave
Whelan, reacting to those leaked talks, admitted that if FSG were to cash in on a big sale during the upcoming transfer window, this could potentially make way for a new, young arrival on Merseyside.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “They’re going to have to capitalise on somebody, in my opinion.
“That big potential transfer fee could do a lot of good. It could be Mane, or it could be Salah.
“One of the two, I believe, will be leaving this summer. For me personally, I’m expecting it to be Salah.
“Mane is looking more and more like the one who will be sticking around, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“When you’re bringing in these young players and they’re performing as well as Luis Diaz is – it does almost put the writing on the wall.
“One of them might well have to go in order to get that capital and rejuvenate that team.”
The Verdict: New deal a huge boost for Klopp
If the £225k-per-week talisman were to put pen to paper on a new contract with the Reds, this would come as a huge boost for the German boss, considering he’s been one of his most influential players on the pitch this season.
Salah has a staggering record in the Premier League, having already scored 30 goals and registered 16 assists across all competitions this term, as per Transfermarkt, as well as the fact that he is currently leading the race for the top-flight Golden Boot.
Not getting any younger, committing his future to Liverpool would likely take the 82-cap international to the end of his playing career, and with a good few of his prime years left ahead of him, there’s still plenty of time to get his hands on more silverware before the day comes that he hangs his boots up for good.