Bournemouth's English defender #23 James Hill (R) vies with Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salahplaceholder image
Bournemouth's English defender #23 James Hill (R) vies with Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah | AFP via Getty Images
Mohamed Salah cut a frustrated figure against Nottingham Forest and a summer exit seems inevitable.
The Mohamed Salah saga took another twist at the weekend where, even in victory over Nottingham Forest, he didn’t look happy.
In a game where he gave the ball away 20 times and won none of the duels he contrasted, it was one of those games for the 33-year old where he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but where he actually was. After a recent run of improved form, it was arguably Salah’s worst performance of the season.
Mo Salah’s woes at Liverpool continue
Extending Salah’s contract last season was the right thing to do. He had a chance conversion rate of over 20% and nobody could have predicted that this would drop below 10% this season. Decline is normally gradual rather than the off the edge of a cliff variety that we have seen from Liverpool’s talisman this year. A move to Saudi Arabia seems inevitable, even if it might not be his preferred choice.
The team’s slump in form hasn’t purely been down to Salah, however, he has never really looked like he has the want or desire to lead his teammates and pull them out of the mire when things aren’t going well. Last season, it would have been Salah who changed the game against Forest, not a 17-year old kid from the academy.
Where is Salah heading in the summer?
According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, it is the latest indication that Salah is leaving Anfield in the summer, but where to, via the Walk On podcast: “He's under contract. I don't think it's as easy a deal as people just think, oh yeah, Salah's gonna go. It's like, it's his last season, definitely.
“It's like, well, first of all, a club needs to make him an offer that suits Liverpool. Yes, he's on big money at Liverpool in terms of wages and he could get them off the wage bill. But, you know, they still got a year left and I think Liverpool would like some money to go back into the market for the reasons that we discussed many times.
“Tony (Evans), you can't become a club that just lets players go for nothing, particularly when they've got time to run on the contract. I've always felt that Saudi Arabia is a move that Saudi Arabia might like to make, although they've scaled back their investments in football in the last 12 to 18 months. There's a few conversations that I've had, points elsewhere, that the US might be a more attractive option.
“I don't think you can overestimate the importance of the lifestyle that Salah has as well. I think he likes living in the UK. I can't see another offer coming from an English club. But the information that I had even 12, 18 months ago was that the US was a more attractive option.”
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