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If delaying and reducing time was part of Liverpool’s negotiating strategy, the problem they have is that, with each game, Mohamed Salah further strengthens its hand in contract negotiations. There may be reason to wait before committing to a player in his thirties, to see if there is evidence of decline. Not when the player is Salah.
He may appear to be a great exception, in this as in many other matters, a man who advances with time. While Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino languish in Saudi Arabia, handsomely rewarded for their Anfield reputations, their old sidekick spun and kicked, scored and starred in the rain on Tyneside, equaling a personal best, setting a Premier League record. On an extraordinary night in Newcastlethere was something normal about how extraordinary Salah’s performance was. Or there is something extraordinary about how normal it is of him.
In four weeks he can discuss a summer free transfer to foreign clubs; among them is one who offered £150 million for him in 2022, Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. “Give Mo the dough,” pleads the banner on the Kop; if part of the calculus for Fenway Sports Group isn’t what he’s done but what he’s going to do, then at the halfway mark of 33, Salah is the most dynamic, devastating striker in the Premier League.
The numbers have underpinned everything Liverpool have done over the past decade, including Salah’s recruitment. He has always been a mixture of style and statistics, his innate elegance combined with an urgency to suggest someone has moved on, but a player of such power that he can only be judged by numbers.
He has now scored in seven consecutive league games, equaling his longest run, with nine goals in that time. By providing and scoring against each of Manchester City and Newcastle, he surpassed Wayne Rooney’s record for scoring and scoring in the same Premier League game: now 37 times, meaning that every seven games Salah starts in the division, on average, he has scored one will score a goal and an assist.
How long can he last? Arne Slott is avoiding contract talks but has hinted at a decision for Liverpool’s power players off the pitch. “It’s hard for me to predict the long-term future, but I can predict that right now he’s in a very good place and on a very good team that gives him good opportunities and is able to do special things,” the head coach said.
Slott tapped into one of Salah’s superpowers: the ability to go from the fringes of a match to becoming the main man, from feeling uninspiring to unstoppable. Undoubtedly Lewis Hall, his immediate opponent at St James’ Park, put in a good display. But when Salah is in the mood – and a classic Premier League fixture seemed to appeal to his competitive instincts – what could the left-back do?
As Slott noted: “What makes him even more special is that in the first 50 minutes you thought he wasn’t playing his best game today and then he comes to 45 minutes assists, two goals, hitting the crossbar, he’s a constant threat. That’s something not many players can do if they’ve played the first 50 minutes like him. This is also what makes it special. If you just look at the goals, his finishing is so clinical and shows that he is a special player. But that’s what we all know.”
However, when Slott took over, it was possible to argue that Salah’s time as a special player was consigned to the past. He finished last season with a rare injury, and then with 11 games that yielded only three goals, two of which were penalties and an argument with Jurgen Klopp. Maybe Slott brought back Salah in the best possible way. Or maybe Salah just did it.
He immediately made an impression on the Dutchman. “I saw a lot of games last season, but it’s always hard to judge a player if you’re not there,” Slott said. “But what I noticed from the beginning was how ready he was and ready to make this a very good season for him. He led by example from day one onwards, a pre-season where there weren’t as many of his usual teammates and still being able to work and train so hard, we all saw his quality in training. It’s not surprising to me that he’s doing so well so far.”
Salah is now top of the Premier League scorers list and is second in assists. In the division’s all-time chart, he is eighth – and of the top 20, only Thierry Henry and Sergio Aguero have played fewer games – as well as 11th in assists, with only David Beckham in the top 10 making fewer appearances. This represents an astonishing level of productivity.
To borrow Salah’s logic after the City game, this may have been his last match at St James’ Park. Newcastle can hope so; and the rest of the Premier League. But if the situation is more complex than ridiculously simplistic notions that Liverpool should just pay Salah whatever they want, regardless of the length of the contract they want, point out, the epic, frenetic 3-3 draw at Newcastle was an illustration that he could be irreplaceable. “Every time we need Mo Salah he scores,” Slott said. “We hope and expect that this can continue for a long time to come.” And if Salah is determined to extend his excellence into his mid-thirties, it also hinges on the increasingly important issue of his contract.