Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah conundrum – is it the right time to cash in on the ageing Egyptian King?

It is the curious case of Mohamed Salah: super striker, talisman, legend, but the Egyptian king of Liverpool, who will be on the bench on Sunday, is not getting any younger. Collect money or get started? As he walked along the banks of the River Thames through Bishop’s Park on Sunday on his way to Fulham, a fan was heard asking: “Do you think they think it’s time to cash in on Mo?”

The conversation arose after 31-year-old Salah was rested – or stopped if you want to look at the glass half empty – from Liverpool’s XI at Craven Cottage. While it may sound like a ridiculous debate, it’s a talking point that has plagued the pub chats over the course of the season.

Soon the Salah conundrum will have to be an issue to be addressed by the top brass at Anfield and Boston, including new sporting director Richard Hughes and returning Football CEO Michael Edwards. With just a year left on his contract, the forward’s future needs to be resolved.

It’s probably an easy fix for most fans. Why on earth would you sell your talisman? Why leave the man who, despite injuries this season, is still top scorer and leading assist? Why let go of your most marketable asset?

There is also the argument that Salah, as in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button referenced earlier, respects his body in a way that could see him follow Cristiano Ronaldo and Co in playing at the highest level until his late thirties, which would earn him another. about five years old.

The Reds forward takes care of his body in a way that allows him to play well into his 30s, like Cristiano Ronaldo

The forward is still his team’s leading goalscorer and assist provider and the Reds’ best player

But speaking of Ronaldo, it brings us to the elephant in the room: Saudi Arabia and £150 million. In the crazy world of transfer trolleys and Chelsea throwing £100m around like it’s pocket change, it seems necessary to emphasize just how much money £150m is.

That point is further reinforced by the fact that Salah will turn 32 at the start of next season. Mail Sport reported in early August how the Saudis were preparing an eye-watering bid for Salah last summer. There was laughter and laughter, even though the reaction might be different a year from now.

That offer took a while to prepare and it only came in the final days of the transfer window. Sources at Liverpool were blunt in their response all summer: Salah is not for sale. And so because there was no time to find a replacement, that was also the answer Al Ittihad received.

But what would the Reds do if, say, a £150m offer landed in their inbox in June? For that money they could get two or three top quality players and start a rebuild in every sense of the word at Anfield, which would also include a whole new coaching team if Jurgen Klopp leaves.

It would be ridiculous to say that the goals for Salah have dried up, even though it may have felt that way in recent weeks. He is the only player in Liverpool history to score more than 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons and has 24 goals and 13 assists this season.

Despite missing much of the season away at the Africa Cup of Nations and subsequently suffering an injury, the Egyptian has made a stunning return that is the envy of Europe. He is still just three goals behind Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland in the league. the Golden Shoe Race.

In 2024, however, his performance fell short of the sky-high standards he set for himself. Obviously his injury, which saw him withdraw from an international camp and have to manage his minutes, has had a huge impact on that.

Salah’s signature goal – cutting into the far corner from the right and side with his left foot – has been seen little this season, with the effort often skewed wide or over the crossbar.

Ryan Gravenberch’s sumptuous result at Fulham was Liverpool’s first open goal after four and a half games without a single goal. The lack of clinical features is certainly not an issue limited to Salah, with Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo also guilty of not taking big risks.

The Saudi Pro League was linked with a huge bid for Salah last summer

Money made from the sale of the Egyptian legend could help fill gaps in the Reds’ squad

The Reds are set to lose Jurgen Klopp this summer after nine years in charge at Anfield

Fans have argued that Diogo Jota is the most naturally gifted player at the club and there were few doubts the Portuguese forward would score if he scored on target for Liverpool’s third on Sunday, but the 27-year-old will now spend the next two having to miss weeks. with a minor injury.

It is a huge blow for Klopp, who now has little choice but to recall Salah for the Merseyside Derby, his latest thrill in a match that – at Goodison Park at least – has often been frustrating during the German’s spell in England played.

With the turmoil mounting at Anfield this summer – Klopp will be followed out the door by the mass departure of his trusted lieutenants – the Salah conundrum is a major issue to be resolved, along with the deals of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk who also ends in 2025.

A seismic return from the Saudis would be hard to turn down, especially when you consider the quality of players that could be signed with the proceeds. But all that is quite easily negated when you consider that Salah is still Liverpool’s favorite goalscorer. It is a decision to shape the next era.