Liverpool head coach Arne Slot wants Mohamed Salah to extend his contract with the Premier League leaders and has spoken to him, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold about their futures.
The trio are all out of contract in the summer and Salah, in particular, has made numerous public comments and earlier this month said a breakthrough in negotiations was “far away.”
Speculation continues to link him with a mega-money move to the Saudi Pro League and on Thursday the country’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said the Egypt international was “a big prize” and the country “would love to have him.”
Liverpool rejected a £150 million bid from Al Ittihad in September 2023, but with time ticking down on Salah’s contract, fears continue to grow he could leave for nothing at the end of the season.
“I would be surprised if there was anyone wherever around the world saying ‘we don’t want Mo Salah‘,” was Slot’s response to the Saudi sports minister’s charm offensive.
“He’s doing so well for so many years that everyone probably wants him. He has 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 to the one [man] you just mentioned.
“Everyone wants him, including us – we want him to extend, of course. That is clear.
“I am not surprised that Saudi wants him – but I would not be surprised if other countries wanted him as well.
“He is old enough and wise enough and done so many smart things in his career he will make the right decision for himself and hopefully for us as well.”
Slot is not involved in contract negotiations as they are handled by sporting director Richard Hughes but he has made his thoughts clear to Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
“I speak with these players, I speak with them, not every day like Richard but quite a lot, and it would be ridiculous if in all these times I speak to them we have never spoken about the future,” added the Dutchman ahead of the tough-looking trip to Bournemouth.
“But as you probably know, that is not something I am going to discuss. But it is not only with the three that are out of contract, you also talk about future things with other players as well.
“It’s a non-stop process talking to your players, but it is also a non-stop process that I will not talk about in public.”
Hughes, who returns to the Cherries where he held a similar position for several years, is under growing scrutiny as long as the contract issues remain unresolved.
He has yet to prove himself in the transfer market, with Federico Chiesa‘s £10 million move from Juventus late in the summer window his only piece of business, but Slot is happy with the relationship they have established.
“I spoke with him before this game as I speak to him before every game. We almost speak on a daily basis. Of course, I asked him a few things on Bournemouth as well,” Slot said.
“We have very good people that analyse Bournemouth and I do this myself quite a lot as well. I’ve seen a lot of their games but the more information, the better.
“My relationship with him is very good, which is what you can expect if you win a lot of games.
“Maybe relationships between managers and sports directors are a bit under debate if you lose a lot.”
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Darwin Nunez, who missed the Champions League defeat in Eindhoven through illness, fellow forward Diogo Jota, who has been absent for four matches with a muscle problem, and Joe Gomez, sidelined for a month by a hamstring injury, are all set to train on Friday.
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