“We cannot replace him. We cannot.”
The words of Pep Guardiola when interviewed by Sky Sports following Sergio Aguero’s last game for Manchester City.
Also the words of every single Liverpool fan whenever the idea of Mohamed Salah leaving the club is mentioned.
As things stand, the three-time Golden Boot winner is set to depart the club at the end of the current campaign. Salah went out of his way to speak to reporters in the aftermath of Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday in what was a rare occurrence.
The former Roma man tends to do his talking on the pitch but clearly had something to say at St Mary’s as the Reds extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points. And he made sure he was heard.
“Well, we are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club. I’m probably more out than in," Salah said post-match.
“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end, it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.”
Asked if he was disappointed at the lack of offers from Liverpool, he replied: “Of course, yeah. I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end, it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see. I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.”
Now, reports have since come out claiming talks between the club and Ramy Abbas Issa, Salah’s lawyer, have been positive, but as revealed by the player himself, the Reds are yet to make a concrete offer to extend his spell on Merseyside beyond an eighth season.
Salah wants to stay and the club are seemingly keen on keeping him. It is about finding an agreement that suits everyone. It might be a slow, frustrating process. There’s also a chance that an agreement simply cannot be found.
Liverpool are a business. They want to be a self-sufficient business. The likes of Michael Edwards, the CEO of Football for FSG, and Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s Sporting Director, need to look after the long-term health of the Reds. If they don’t feel giving a soon-to-be-33-year-old a big contract is the smartest play, they won’t do it. After all, they aren’t here to appease fans.
Here’s the thing though, extending Salah’s stay with Liverpool wouldn’t just be a popular choice. The Reds are still as reliant as ever on the 32-year-old.
This term, the table-toppers have scored 24 goals in the Premier League and their No. 11 has been involved in 66% with his 10 goals and six assists. Across his eight seasons with the Reds, Salah has played a part in 42% of their goals. Prior to this campaign, his highest goal involvement was his debut year with the club when he had a hand in 50% of the team’s goals. His lowest return was last season (33%) though it does coincide with that being the time he suffered the first real injury of his career.
Simply put, Salah is a key cog in the Liverpool attack. Replacing him would be no easy feat. Delaying the need to replace him might be the best business the 2019/20 Premier League champions could do.
Because, let’s face it, his powers don’t appear to be on the wane, do they? He leads the way for goal involvements (16) in the English top-flight this term. He’s scored twice as many goals in the league as Luis Diaz (five), the team’s second-highest scorer this term. He leads the way for assists for the Reds, both domestically (six in the Premier League) and in Europe (four in the Champions League).
The 32-year-old is the only Liverpool player in double digits for goal involvements so far this season in the Premier League. He’s a key reason as to why Arne Slot’s men sit clear at the summit.
His FootballCritic form rating of 99 is the highest it has been since early April of this year, really hammering home the point that he’s improving rather than deteriorating. In fact, he’s just one of five players to have a 99 form rating at the moment. The others are Harry Kane, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Vinicius Junior.
He’s the only player from the Premier League, considered the most physically demanding by most, to be in the 99 club and that tells you something.
On current form, he cannot be replaced. As a club legend at Liverpool, he cannot be replaced. So why not keep him around?
