The agent of Mohamed Salah, Ramy Abbas Issa has responded to a report about the Liverpool forward following a suggestion the club could sign Kylian Mbappe.
Salah may be away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, but the rumour will continue to gather momentum during the January transfer window.
Salah has been continually linked with a move away from Liverpool during his six-and-a-half years with the club. First, it was Real Madrid, and now it is Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad who pose the perennial threat of stealing away Jurgen Klopp’s star player.
Al-Ittihad struggled to acquire Salah in September, reportedly offering him a package worth an eye-popping £215mn – and that temptation is unlikely to go away.
The 31-year-old is only under contract with Liverpool until June 2025, leaving the club slightly vulnerable to approaches for Salah.
The rumours have grown louder of late due to events in Paris, where Kylian Mbappe is yet to decide upon his future.
Mbappe’s contract with Paris Saint-Germain will expire this summer, meaning he is free to talk to foreign suitors about a free transfer at the end of the season. And while the Spanish giants have always been the favourites to acquire him, Liverpool are now into the conversation.
Mbappe would make quite the replacement for Salah in the eventuality of a summer move for the Egyptian. But his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, has given a hint about his client’s feelings towards leaving Liverpool.
He has stirred the pot by replying to a post from Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna from March 2023, which reported Salah was ‘open’ to leaving Liverpool that summer and favoured a move to Spain. Over eight months later, Issa simply replied with: “You just don’t know.”
The reason behind Issa’s tweet is open to interpretation, but optimistic Liverpool fans might hope it hints at Salah signing a new deal at the club. He last penned a deal in July 2022, signing up for an extended stint in return for a guarantee of £350,000 per week.
Salah’s form has shown no signs of depletion, with 18 goals and nine assists in 27 games so far this season. He remains the key player for Klopp’s side, who will see just how important he is during AFCON.
They made a good start to the period by beating Arsenal 2-0 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday afternoon. A Jakub Kiwior own goal and Luis Diaz’s powerful strike came late on to maintain the Reds’ strong form of late.
Klopp believes Liverpool have what it takes to cope without Salah.
“We have different options and we can change the system,” he said.
“When Mo is playing it makes sense that we play a specific way so that he can be in his favourite position, he deserves that and he helps us there the most.
“But when he’s not there we have to be creative and maybe we will be. I don’t know what surprises you after all these years but maybe it will! Not for the sake of it, but maybe. Let’s see.”
