‘What I hear is…’ – Michael Owen has a theory on why Mo Salah hasn’t yet agreed a new contract
Michael Owen has explained why he thinks there’s yet to be a resolution between Mo Salah and Liverpool regarding a contract extension.
Following the Reds’ 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday, the Egyptian voiced his disappointment at the lack of an offer from the club up to now, with his current deal just seven months away from expiring.
A few of the most reliable journalists on all things LFC have indicated that the 32-year-old is eager to remain at Anfield and that negotiations are continuing apace in the background, but it appears that a compromise has yet to be reached regarding some crucial factors.
Owen has his say on Salah contract saga
Speaking on The Final Word on Optus Sport, Owen claimed to have heard from ‘sources’ that Salah’s desire for a ‘longer-term’ deal is holding up the process, and that Liverpool might be reluctant to match the length of contract that he’s apparently seeking.
The former Reds striker said: “I think fans around the world will be very annoyed at the club. If that’s the case – and I can’t imagine Mo Salah is gonna lie – then it’s really bad from the club’s point of view.
“What I hear is that Mo Salah is wanting a longer-term contract. When you’re young, you want short contracts to keep the desirability and keep everybody wanting you. When you’re older, of course, you want stability and you want to be secure.
“He’s very different, isn’t he? He’s as fit as a fiddle and he’s still banging them in but if he’s going in and asking for five years or something, then rightly so the club will think ‘Hmm…?’. I don’t know entirely, but my sources tell me that it’s more of a term problem.”
Salah certainly deserves at least 2-3 more years
Salah will be 33 at the end of his current contract, so we can’t imagine that he’d play hardball over demanding a five-year deal, as Owen has apparently suggested – according to Graeme Bailey for TBR Football, the Egyptian is hoping for either three more years or two with the option to extend if desired.
Generally it’d be most understandable if Liverpool were to be reluctant to hand a long-term contract to a player of such an age, but as Reds fans know well, we’re not talking about any ordinary footballer here, but one who’s set all sorts of goalscoring records in his time at Anfield.
Having already scored 12 goals this season and set up another 10, it’s far from unreasonable to suggest that he could continue to have a massive impact in Arne Slot’s side for at least two more years after this campaign, and LFC would find it incredibly difficult to sign a replacement who could be trusted to score with the consistency that our number 11 has done for so long.
Salah has more than earned the right to state his terms to FSG regarding a possible contract extension, and unless his demands are completely unfeasible, the powerbrokers should have no hesitation in being amenable to what the 32-year-old wants. A two- or three-year deal ought to be deemed very reasonable.
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