With debate still ongoing around whether Mo Salah will sign a new Liverpool contract, Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge noted a big reason why the Egyptian might choose to extend his stay on Merseyside.
Salah’s contract expires at the end of the season and at the moment, there have been no obvious signals that he is on the brink of signing a new deal.
Though he publicly hasn’t said he is close to agreeing a new contract, there have also been no concrete links to other clubs.
Thankfully, the speculation about Salah’s future hasn’t distracted him from his on-field duties and after another important performance for the Reds on Sunday, Carragher spoke with Sturridge about the No. 11’s chances of staying.
Salah’s goal and assist against Chelsea mean he has 13 goal contributions in 11 games across all competitions this season.
This latest penalty kick means he is now joint-ninth on the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers, with 162 goals.
“He’ll have an eye on Thierry Henry (175 goals) and Frank Lampard (177) by the end of this season, I would imagine,” claimed Carragher on Sky Sports.
“I think stats like this are one of the biggest reasons why Mo Salah will sign a new contract at Liverpool.
“Of course, they’ll be talking about money and length of contract, but I think these are the things that really get the juices flowing for Mo Salah.
“He breaks all the records at Liverpool, but getting as far as he can up those lists, whether it’s that list or different ones, I think that’s a big part of sort of his focus as a player.
“I’m not saying he’s selfish, he’s obviously a great team player.”
Sitting next to Carragher, Sturridge also agreed that these records could be a driving factor in Salah’s motivation to continue at Liverpool.
The former striker explained: “I think anyone who’s an attacker who wants to be known as one of the best or the best, you have to be obsessed with things like that because, you know, your job is to score. Your job is to help the team win.
“And I think for him (Salah), it’s now to the point of legacy and it’s like, ‘How can I add to my legacy?'”
Impressively, Liverpool’s Egyptian has also directly set up as many goals as Henry, 74, and is just 13 behind his Premier League tally for goals.
“Looking at Thierry and those types of guys, players he’s idolised as well, I do believe he’s gone an eye on them thinking, ‘You know what if I can go down as having more goals as someone like Thierry Henry.”
Of course, Alan Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals is still some way off, as is Ian Rush‘s tally of 346 as Liverpool’s highest-ever scorer.
However, with his current 218 goals, Salah will want to rise up the Liverpool all-time list, or so Liverpool supporters will hope.
At the moment, he sits fifth on that list, 10 behind Billy Liddell in fourth.
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