Former Liverpool legend Jamie Redknapp has confessed he would be “surprised” if Mohamed Salah completed a deal at Anfield, suggesting the Egyptian’s ties with the club have reached “breaking point”. A Sky Sports pundit even suggested that Salah could leave as early as January. Redknapp has expressed concerns that Salah and Liverpool are headed for an acrimonious parting after the player was left out for the second successive game against Sunderland.
The 33-year-old was brought on from the bench at half-time but was unable to lead Liverpool to victory in a 1-1 draw with the impressive Black Cats. Last April, Salah signed a new contract with Liverpool, keeping him on Merseyside until 2027. The new deal comes after one of Salah’s most outstanding seasons at the club. He played a pivotal role in Liverpool’s Premier League success last season, finding the net 29 times and providing 18 assists in 38 league games.
However, the Egyptian’s performance seems to have decreased dramatically this term. Salah is not the only one struggling. Many of Arne Slott’s side have not found their form and the pressure is mounting on the Dutchman amid a series of worrying results.
However, despite having been trusted by Liverpool fans over multiple seasons, Salah has been left out of the starting XI for the past two games due to poor performances. Redknapp believes the relationship between Salah and Liverpool is at a critical juncture and fears the pair are headed for an acrimonious break-up. This is because the Egyptian players feel that they have been let down by their coach.
“He’s a great guy in the Premier League, a great guy in Liverpool, so I don’t think this situation will end well,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s going to be a difficult situation for the manager right now, given that he has very good and important people in the team in and around the dressing room and how they react and behave during training.
“He doesn’t want to be on the bench. He didn’t sign this contract with his career in mind. He wants to play week in and week out.
“I would be surprised if he saw out the remaining two years of his contract, or the year and a half. I don’t think this would solve the situation one bit. Nothing in football would surprise me – whether it’s in January or maybe in the summer.”
“If the right club comes along…a lot will be determined by this guy. He’s earned that right. And if he says, ‘Look, if I’m not going to be a starter, I’m not one of those players to hang around. I’ll go wherever I need to go.’ I think he still wants to play in Europe.
“The first thing we all say is he’s going to go to Saudi Arabia – he’s obviously a legend in that region – or does he want to go to the US, but for me this is the real breaking point in the relationship right now.
“He’s going to be disappointed and, as you say, he’s going to be blamed for what’s going on. But while the team is winning without him…I looked at those stats and they were pretty good numbers when he wasn’t playing.
“No one is essential, time waits for no one, and now it’s going to be difficult.”
Earlier this week, Slott admitted he was unhappy with Salah being left out for the win over West Ham and revealed his reaction to Wednesday’s call-up.
Before the match, the player explained: “We didn’t have a long conversation this time or before the West Ham game. We talked a lot after the Frankfurt game, but not as much now.
“I think he’s reacting the way you want a top professional to react, which is that he trained very hard and well the day after the game at West Ham and he trained well yesterday as well. He’s really positive towards his team-mates.”
“In that sense, he’s a role model. He was a role model for all the players when he played, and he’s a role model now when he’s not playing.”
