Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen reckons the Merseysiders should “bend the rules” to renew Mohamed Salah’s contract before the end of the season.
The Reds are having a great season in the Premier League with Arne Slot’s men currently top of the table and heading for their 20th top-flight title.
Liverpool are currently 12 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, who still have to travel to Anfield before the end of the season, and it would take a monumental collapse if the Reds were to surrender the title from here.
One distraction for Liverpool this season has been the uncertainty surrounding the future of Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, with the trio all out of contract at the end of the season.
But Owen is convinced that Salah wants to stay at Liverpool if the Reds offer him a long-term contract on the money he wants.
Owen said on talkSPORT: “Mo Salah’s an interesting one. I think Mo Salah wants to stay, in fact I’m pretty sure he wants to stay.
“I think Liverpool are going to have to bend the rules slightly, they might say, ‘Oh right, only two years for players of this age.’
“But he’s no normal player, he’s as fit as a flea, he’s dedicated, he lives in the gym, he’s so professional. You can’t tell me that he’s not going to be at the same level in three, four years.
“I mean, he’s just unbelievable, so I would bend the rules, I would give him the contract, the length of contract.
“I’m also not that type of person, a fan that says, ‘Just give him what he wants, he’s brilliant, we’ll win the league with him.’ No, because you can’t put your club at risk, but I don’t think it’s got to that stage.
“To replace him, it’s going to cost an awful lot more, you’re not going to pay a transfer fee for him.
“So I would do whatever it takes to keep him, and I think he wants to stay, but sources tell me that they’re still quite a way apart.”
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On Alexander-Arnold’s future, former Liverpool striker Owen added: “Does he want to stay at Liverpool? He’s been there, seen it, done it, won everything, got the t-shirt.
“He could retire at the club and be an all-time legend, will be an all-time legend. I mean, he’s contributed so much to that club, he’s come through the ranks.
“Nobody can doubt his loyalty or anything else like that. And he could play out his days and he’s still in a successful team. Liverpool are still absolutely one of the best teams in Europe, of course, going to go on to win the league as well this season. I mean, it’s not a bad choice.
“My choice, when I was in that situation, we weren’t quite as good as the current Liverpool team in terms of we weren’t quite as dominant.
“But it is a similar thing, no question about it. The other alternative, of course, is he can be sitting there thinking, I’ve done everything, I’ve achieved absolutely everything at my boyhood.
“Who can deny me a chance to go and play for one of the biggest teams in the world, a new experience, a new country, new language, new weather, new food, new everything? And what a team.”