Arne Slot had an emphatic response to the press this afternoon when he was quizzed about Mo Salah’s future at Liverpool following a social media post from the Egyptian over the weekend.
After scoring the Reds’ winning goal against Brighton on Saturday amid ongoing uncertainty over his contract situation on Merseyside, the 32-year-old shared a tweet which contained the sentence: ‘No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like’.
As it stands, our number 11 will be a free agent at the end of this season, with prospective suitors able to approach him about a potential pre-contract agreement from January.
Slot refusing to be drawn on Salah’s contract situation
When Slot was asked about Salah’s social media message, he shot back (via liverpoolfc.com): “You interpreted in a way maybe other people don’t. I don’t look at the Instagram posts of my players. I only talk to them, which you can’t, so that is the advantage I have…
“Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he has been here at Liverpool he has been in a very good place but this season again as well. I am hoping he will post one after tomorrow [v Leverkusen] and on Saturday again [v Aston Villa] and what he says with that for me is not important.
“The only thing that is important for me is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations and that’s what matters and not how you guys interpret one of his posts.”
When asked whether he thought Salah may have been hinting that he sees his future away from Liverpool, Slot replied: “Then I should have spoken to him about what he said if that was a reference – or yes, or no. But I haven’t spoken about him, we’ve spoken about Leverkusen because that team deserves all of our attention for the quality they have.”
Please sign a new deal soon, Mo!
It’s no surprise that Slot refuses to be drawn on the delicate matter of Salah’s contract situation, particularly when negotiations may be going on in the background (or so Liverpool fans would hope).
What we can safely assume is that the Reds’ head coach will be praying that the Egyptian signs a new deal at Anfield, having already found the net nine times since the Dutchman took charge at the beginning of this season.
The uncomfortable reality is that, for as long as the matter is unresolved, any cryptic comments – either in person or online – or even any subtle body language hints are bound to be interpreted as signs which point towards the 32-year-old either staying or going.
We can only hope that Salah pens a new deal soon so that all the nervousness surrounding his future will finally dissipate. At least his performances on the pitch suggest that he’s still all-in on the Liverpool cause!