Manchester United legend Roy Keane believes Mohamed Salah "needs to be selfish" to secure the best contract he can for himself at Liverpool
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Mohamed Salah has now received a new contract offer from Liverpool
Mohamed Salah has now received a new contract offer from Liverpool
(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United legend Roy Keane believes Mohamed Salah "needs to be selfish" to secure the best possible contract as the uncertainty over his Liverpool future goes on. And the former Ireland captain has praised the Reds' 16-goal top scorer for not letting the ongoing speculation impact his form negatively.
Salah's terms expire at the end of the season and the Egypt captain is free to talk to clubs outside of England from January 1 about moving on a free transfer next summer.
Despite that prospect, however, it is understood that Salah is determined to stay put on Merseyside but revealed last month, after scoring twice in the 3-2 win over Southampton, that he had yet to be offered an extension by the club.
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It's since been reported that the No.11 has been offered a new deal but an agreement is not yet thought to be imminent and Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast by Sky Bet, thinks Salah has every right to be demanding over his new deal.
"It’s not about being right or wrong - if a player wants to put something out there, he’s an experienced player, players need to be selfish," Keane says. "He’s got to look after himself and he’s got to negotiate the best way he can.
"If that is sending little messages out there, I wouldn’t lose any sleep about it. I’ve been there and done it – and if the club want to get him signed up then they have to give him whatever they are after. He’s such a good player and he’ll have plenty of options.”
“There’s always these fun and games with these contract situations – particularly when they are coming to an end. The key for me and what I would give Mo Salah credit for – with all these distractions – is he is playing well and producing.”
Keane adds: "I wanted closure for something that was dragging on for a year or two. When I did my cruciate, I was out for a year and when I came back playing, the club were waiting to see if I was going to get back to a certain level so that was almost an accidental situation what I found myself in.
"Then, obviously with the Bosman rule, so what you’re trying to do is negotiate – they would offer you so much, you might ask for a bit more, you get options to go abroad, and just like everything else, you weigh it all up. I was content at the club and eventually they came up with the deal I wanted but I was getting a lot of criticism.
“I had that at [Nottingham] Forest - Brian Clough was quoted as saying, ‘I’m selfish, I’m greedy’, but that’s just to put pressure on a player - but as you get older, you get a bit wiser, and what you almost say to a club is: ‘This is what I’m after, hopefully you respect what you’re trying to get, and also I respect your situation’.
"If Liverpool don’t want to budge, you have to respect that. The bottom line is you have to go out and perform every week, and all that other stuff will fall into place. This is a good test for Salah’s character.
"It will only get worse the longer it goes on, but if Liverpool keep winning football matches and he is playing well, it will all sort itself out.”