By RYAN WALKER
Tuesday December 3, 2024
Mohamed Salah could find himself signing a pre-contract agreement with PSG in the January transfer window after opening the door to join the club, according to reports.
The Egyptian's future is the subject of hyperfocus at Anfield with Salah's presence coming under greater scrutiny every day with his existing deal expiring at the end of the season.
His man-of-the-match performance - that saw Salah score and assist - in Liverpool's dominant 2-0 win over Man City on Sunday piled renewed pressure on the club's board to offer an extension.
The 32-year-old preciously stressed following last weekend's victory over Southampton that he was 'more out than in' on staying at the club after stopping for a rare exchange with journalists and revealed he had received no offer from Liverpool executives.
Club supporters are desperate to see a contract extension agreed, but the race against time is on with the winger able to agree a contract with teams outside the Premier League in January if the situation remains the same.
One of the clubs that could attempt to lure Salah away from the Premier League is PSG who have been long-term admirers of the Premier League and Champions League title winner.
Salah shares a relationship with Parisians owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi and the club have previously tried to sign him but are now being encouraged in their efforts by the Liverpool star, as reported by L'Equipe.
The French outlet - who also admits PSG have denied links - state that Salah is actively engaging in discussions and could see himself playing for the Ligue 1 champions next season.
However, recruiting the prolific goalscorer would go against PSG's current sporting project of staying away from superstar personalities and instead investing in young players for the future.
Salah previously signed a long-term extension in 2022 at a time when his future was under similar concern before putting pen-to-paper on new lucrative terms.
Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has urged the club to drop their data-driven approach and treat Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk differently to other stars.
'It's a moneyball situation and we're delighted that's back but on the other hand say give someone what they want, you can't do that,' he said on Sky Sports.
'These two, Van Dijk and Salah, if Liverpool do have a rule such as only giving players over 30 a certain length contract, you have to move the data for players like that,' he added.
'I'm not saying he shouldn't get a two-year deal, I'm not saying he shouldn't be on big money - he's on big money now and rightly so - but this idea and this saying of "give him what he wants", this club is not built on giving people what they want, that's why there is success at the club.
'Being ahead of the game, buying Mo Salah for £40m when nobody else in the Premier League looked at him, because Liverpool were ahead of the game,' said Carragher.
Salah, Van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all find themselves in the same contract situation with the latter being wanted by Real Madrid who have already registered interest.
The Saudi Pro League is also another option for Salah with Al-Ittihad previously having a £200m bid rejected by the Anfield club last year.