Three of Liverpool's key players have been allowed to reach the final year of their Anfield contracts
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes that Mohamed Salah will leave the club this summer as the Egyptian star’s contract situation comes to a head.
Salah is one of three key Liverpool players who are now in the final year of their current Anfield contracts, alongside skipper Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
All three players are key figures in the Reds first-team and while Johnson believes only Salah will depart the club next summer, the club should not have put themselves in a position where such highly-rated players are so close to the end of their contracts.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has three huge players looking like leaving (Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
“I believe Mo will leave and the other two [Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold] will stay,” Johnson told Betfred. “Each of them are going to have an endless list of clubs that will want to sign them if they’re available as a free agent and if Liverpool know that any of them aren’t going to sign a new contract, then I believe they’ve been foolish to not cash in.
"You can’t have players of their calibre walking out on a free.”
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With three goals and three assists from his four Premier League appearances so far this season, Salah has looked rejuvenated after the 32-year-old was able to enjoy a summer off. But after scoring in this month’s 3-0 win at Manchester United he admitted that ‘it’s my last year at the club’, and Johnson believes the former Chelsea man can still play at a high level.
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“Mo still has an awful lot to give,” Johnson added. “He doesn’t play as if he’s 32 years old, so you assume as long as he feels right, that he can continue to play at this level for a couple more years, so you hope a move to Saudi Arabia isn’t of interest to him right now.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah (Image credit: Getty Images)
"If he’s available on a free at the end of the season, then there’ll be a list of exciting clubs all waiting to sign him.”
Liverpool take on AC Milan in the Champions League at the San Siro on Tuesday evening, before facing Bournemouth at home in the Premier League on Saturday.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
