Arne Slot urges Mohamed Salah to sign new Liverpool deal after Saudi links

LONDON – Arne Slot has urged Mohamed Salah to sign a new contract with Liverpool, advising the Egyptian superstar against a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.

Salah has been in sensational form this season but is out of contract in June, with speculation persisting that the Saudi Pro League could be a possible destination for the 32-year-old forward.

Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal was asked whether Salah was the “big prize” for the Middle East nation in an interview on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel on Jan 30.

“Definitely, because if he ticks all the right boxes, even for us, we’d love to have him. We feel like we are one with the Egyptians, from our culture and our history and so on,” the sports minister said.

Salah, who tops the English Premier League goalscoring charts with 19 goals this season, said at the end of December he was still “far away” from reaching an agreement over a new deal at Anfield.

Liverpool manager Slot reiterated at his pre-match press conference on Jan 31 that the club want to keep hold of their talismanic striker, who joined the club in 2017.

“We want him to extend, of course, as well. That is clear, but I’m not surprised that Saudi wants him, I’m also not surprised if other countries want him as well,” he said.

“He’s old and wise enough. He’s done so many smart things in his career that he will make the right decision for himself and, hopefully, for us as well.”

Referring to the Saudi links, the Dutchman added: “He’s done so well without my advice for a long time, so he can probably keep doing what is best for his career, even without my advice.

“But my advice to him would be different from the one you just mentioned.”

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold are also out of contract at the end of the season, giving the Premier League leaders a headache.

Slot, whose team face in-form Bournemouth on Feb 1, said it “would be ridiculous” if he did not speak to his players about the future, but he refused to be drawn on the progress of contract talks.

The Dutchman, 46, preferred to focus on players’ issues on the pitch, sharing that Federico Chiesa is now ready to play more minutes but faces some fierce competition.

The forward, 27, has yet to start a Premier League game for Liverpool since his transfer from Serie A side Juventus in August.

But he started his second match in all competitions on Jan 29 when a much-changed side lost 3-2 to Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

The Italy international played the full 90 minutes against PSV, winning a penalty to give Liverpool a first-half lead through Cody Gakpo.

But, with the Premier League’s top marksman Salah, Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota as well as Darwin Nunez competing for a place up front, Chiesa has had to wait longer for more game time.

“He’s ready for more minutes. If he can play 90 at Champions League, you can play Premier League. His main problem is he is competition with Diaz, Gakpo, Nunez, Salah and Jota. They are doing very well as well,” Slot said.

“A big compliment to him how hard he worked.”

Slot also had a boost ahead of the Reds’ trip to high-flying Bournemouth, with the return of Jota, Nunez and defender Joe Gomez to training.

“All three are training today. We have 20 players available. We have to make the smartest decision for them and to win the game tomorrow,” he said.

Slot was full of praise for Bournemouth, who produced a remarkable performance at home to end surprise packages Nottingham Forest’s eight-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League with a 5-0 victory last weekend.

Andoni Iraola’s side are seventh in the standings with 40 points from 23 matches, while Liverpool sit top on 53 points with a game in hand.

Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0 at Anfield in September.

“It’s a big one. I knew this already when we played the second half in the home game. We were 3-0 up at half-time, but they kept on going at us. That showed me the character. Since then, they have been outstanding,” Slot said.

“His (Iraola) players work incredibly hard. In a different way to Arsenal, they are a threat at set-pieces. Maybe they deserve higher than the position they are at the moment.” AFP, REUTERS