Anfield icon Phil Thompson has voiced his concerns over a new deal for Mohamed Salah whose future with Liverpool remains subject to much speculation.
The Egyptian is understood to demanding a major hike in his wages to put pen to paper on extended terms on Merseyside and commit his long-term future to Jurgen Klopp’s side beyond the summer of 2023.
Salah had revealed his desire to turn out for Liverpool until the very end of his playing career which has added to the talk of Liverpool pushing for the 29-year-old to compromise on his wage bump demands.
He has been phenomenal for the Reds in recent times and was on the scoresheet thrice in Sunday’s rout at Old Trafford with Salah now the highest-scoring African player in the history of England’s top flight.
Despite his pivotal figure in the Anfield camp, Liverpool great Phil Thompson in his column for The Daily Mail has admitted that he is not in favour of the club conceding to Salah’s demands of paying him what he wants which could turn out to be damaging for the dressing room atmosphere, according to the former Reds skipper.
“I’m not in the camp of give Mo Salah what he wants but Liverpool have to find a sensible way of getting him tied down to a new contract.
“It’s going to cost around £350,000 a week and I understand the clamour for ‘just pay him what he wants’ but Liverpool’s predicament is his age and setting a precedent ahead of other world class players such as Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane.
“They have to be sensible in negotiations. That may mean stacking it with loyalty bonuses to boost his earnings towards the end to reward and encourage sustained levels of performance. They have to be very careful.
“At the moment they can’t replace him. To find someone who can provide similar statistics would cost in the region of £100million and that would command £350,000 or £400,000 a week wages.
“He says he wants to stay at Liverpool for life and that worries me sometimes as those statements are usually a precursor to a player running down a contract. We need his agent to come and meet us in the middle.
“Liverpool made him the superstar he is today. He should be rewarded but the deal has to be done with head rather than heart as paying those figures can be damaging for a dressing room and the club if you don’t structure things correctly.”
