Mohamed Salah‘s early return to Liverpool from Egypt national team duty suggests that he could be in line for a contract extension, Reds expert David Lynch has theorised.
The 32-year-old – who is still due to become a free agent at the end of the season – played and scored in the Pharaohs’ 2-0 win over Mauritania on October 11 but went back to Merseyside before the return fixture on Tuesday.
Egypt allowed Salah to head back to Liverpool early due to concerns about a possible injury on the artificial playing surface, and the winger is therefore expected to be in tip-top condition for Sunday’s blockbuster battle with Chelsea in the Premier League.
Salah has still not signed a contract extension at Liverpool, who could lose him for nothing next summer, but Lynch – speaking to Sports Mole – believes that the former Chelsea and Roma man is in with a better chance of penning fresh terms if he skips an inconsequential Egypt game every now and then.
“It’s encouraging from that perspective, that he accepts that there are times when it is good to manage his minutes and not play every game,” Lynch said when asked about Salah missing Egypt games highlighting his dedication to Liverpool.
“The comparison maybe is Cristiano Ronaldo who, don’t get me wrong, unbelievable athlete, ridiculous commitment to get on the pitch as frequently as possible and scoring goals, but you do wonder at times whether that can come at the detriment of the player in terms of the long term and how often they can play at the top, top level for.
‘Salah needs to be at elite level for new Liverpool contract’
“We have seen that slight decline in Ronaldo in recent years, and I think for Salah, if he’s going to get this new contract at Liverpool and it’s still going to be at the same wage, Liverpool need him to be performing as good as he has been over the last couple of years.
“Not playing a game where Egypt don’t necessarily massively need him and there’s a risk of injury is important, and I also think it’s going to be if he’s going to have to accept at times throughout this season that Liverpool are going to have to pull him in and out of the team sometimes.
“I think that is the best way to prolong his career and make sure he’s playing at that elite level for as long as possible. So as long as he’s on board with that – and I think this shows that he is partially on board with it – that bodes well in terms of his relationship with Liverpool and says something maybe about what’s going to happen with his contract.”
Salah was one of three Liverpool players to make early returns from international duty, the others being Virgil van Dijk and Curtis Jones, the former of whom would have been suspended for the Netherlands’ clash with Germany after being sent off against Hungary.
Meanwhile, Jones was added to the England squad following the withdrawals of Kobbie Mainoo and Morgan Gibbs-White, although the 23-year-old was an unused substitute in the 2-1 loss to Greece before pulling out due to the birth of his child.
With Salah and Van Dijk both being allowed to leave the national team camp early, Lynch highlighted the good relations that the Reds share with national team FAs after a positive international period.
