Reports that Mohamed Salah is close to renewing his contract at Liverpool have been described as ‘premature’.
Egyptian sports minister, Ashraf Sobhi, this week stated that Salah’s ‘direction’ was to sign a new contract at Liverpool, despite his advice to pursue a new challenge away from Anfield.
Salah’s current contract is set to expire in 2023 and the two parties have so far been unable to agree terms on an extension, despite both club and player having spoken on their desire for a new deal to be agreed.
“I met with Mohamed Salah at the airport after the end of the Senegal match and the failure to reach the World Cup finals and said to him to forget what happened and focus on what’s next,” Sobhi told Egyptian radio on Monday, as per the Liverpool Echo.
“I have advised him to continue his journey at a club other than Liverpool, but his direction now is to renew his contract with Liverpool.
“There are campaigns against Salah directed by some to bring him down, but I asked him not to pay attention to them.”
Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter final first leg with Benfica on Tuesday, Jurgen Klopp said: “I’m happy with it because there’s nothing new to say – that’s good. The decisive parties are talking to each other and that’s all I need.”
However, Sky Sports are reporting that talk of a new deal for Salah being agreed are ‘premature’ and insist there is ‘a lot of middle ground to be made up’ before an announcement over an extension is made.
🗣️"Reports that it was close was premature!"
🗣️"There is a lot of middle ground to be made up still!"
Melissa Reddy on the latest news regarding Mo Salah's contract negotiations with Liverpool.pic.twitter.com/5FYitCGV4C
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 5, 2022
“From what I gather, back in December talks were pretty much iced because Salah’s people weren’t happy with the terms on the table, but now it looks like dialogue has been resurrected,” said reporter, Melissa Reddy.
“I think reports that it’s close are premature. I think there is a lot of middle ground to be made up still.
“But there are a number of things that have happened in the background to help Liverpool get the deal over the line.
“One of which is the state of PSG at the moment; the civil war that is happening there, a lot of discomfort behind the scenes, fans not happy. The fact that Kylian Mbappe looks close to joining Real Madrid, and that’s Real Madrid off the table [for Salah] because they’ve got their marquee man in mind.
“And so, when you look at the options, it’s fairly limited for Salah.
“When you look at what Liverpool are doing – they are potentially on the cusp of a quadruple – this team is going places, he’s the main man. You also look at the instant impact of [Luis] Diaz, and all of these things have conspired to put Liverpool in a stronger position than they were last year.”
Jurgen Klopp last month provided an update on Salah’s situation and insisted the Reds ‘cannot do much more’ to persuade the forward to sign a new deal, though insisted he remains relaxed about the issue.
Salah had previously spoken out on contract talks and told GQ that he was not asking for ‘crazy stuff’ in negotiations as he looks for a deal that moves him closer to the Premier League’s highest earners.
Salah is the Premier League’s leading scorer this season and has been in exceptional form for Liverpool during the current campaign, scoring 28 goals and providing 10 assists in all competitions.
