Liverpool once again finds itself in a quandary over Mohamed Salah's contract situation. The last time it had to ask itself the same questions, the club's head of research had his expectations completely flipped .
By this point, the debate is a familiar one. Given the wage he commands and his advancing years, is it economical to hand Salah a new deal at Anfield ?
He has made his continued importance to the team clear at the start of the new season, scoring one goal and creating another for Diogo Jota on the way to an opening-day triumph to kick off the Arne Slot era. But whether the numbers stack up in terms of a contract extension will now be for others to decide.
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Previously, that job would have fallen at least partially to Dr Ian Graham, the club's former head of research. We're hearing a lot from him lately following the release of his book, How to Win the Premier League , and he has shared some fascinating insight on the last time Salah's contract was up for discussion.
“Some of the last work I did (for Liverpool) was about Salah's longevity," Graham told the ECHO . "How long can he keep producing for?
“And I fully I went into the analysis fully expecting to say, now is the time to sell. This would have been summer ‘21 or ‘22, I can't remember.
“But yeah, to my surprise, it was Mo is going to keep producing for a couple of years and you can't replace Mo’s level of performance.
“If you replace Mo, you're replacing with a younger player who might get to Mo's level in a couple of years. Or if you want to replace what Mo does today, you tell me a player who's going to replace what Mo Salah has done for Liverpool since 2017.”
A lot of that logic still holds true today. It's certainly still impossible to find someone who could come straight in and replace Salah's current impact on the team.
What has changed, at least in theory, is the longevity aspect. Salah is a couple of years older, and even he can't keep going forever.
But there have been no real signs of decline, and Liverpool would not want to needlessly discard some of his remaining peak years. It's a tough decision, and one Graham is thankful he no longer has to make.
“It was a privilege working for Liverpool, but it was also a huge responsibility as well,” he admitted. “And I'm really enjoying the fact that that responsibility is not on my shoulders anymore. So I'm just watching Liverpool as a fan today. I don't care about finances.
“My opinion as a fan, I want to see Mo Salah in Red for as long as possible, but I understand if that's not the best decision and I trust the decision-makers at Liverpool to make the right decision.”
Liverpool.com says: It must be nice not having to make the call this time around! But Salah is still unerringly consistent on the pitch, and it would be as hard as ever to find someone who could come in and make an even vaguely comparable contribution.
His big wage demands can't be dismissed out of hand, and it's not a completely straightforward decision for Liverpool. However, his numbers continue to defy the ageing process, and it would be a brave (or foolish) analyst who bet against him being able to contribute at a high level for years to come.
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