Liverpool star Mohamed Salah doesn't do much in terms of media interviews, but when he does speak, people tend to listen. There also tends to be some sort of message that he sending across.
And it would be fair to say that was the case when he spoke live on Sky Sports following the match with Manchester United last weekend. Salah confirmed that no talks had been held with the Reds over a new contract and caused a stir by intimating that he was treating the victory as his final appearance at Old Trafford.
What Salah meant by those comments was that is the case as things stand, rather than that anything had been decided. But by making that clear in public, he was very much the ball in Liverpool's court when it comes to a contract extension.
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As much as there is still a very strong argument that Salah is Liverpool's most important player, it must also be noted that his alternative options are limited. Should he be available on a free transfer in 2025, every side in the world who could afford his wages would be interested — but that is not to say that he would be keen on them.
Seeing Salah line up for another Premier League club feels unlikely, even if The Athletic reported before his last contract renewal that it would be something he was open to. And aside from staying in England, there are not many other options available.
The interest from the Saudi Pro League has never gone away since it saw a bid worth $197m (£150m/€178m) flatly rejected by Liverpool last summer. But given the experience of the players who have made that move so far, it would be inadvisable for a player as obsessed with playing at the top level as Salah is to make such a switch.
The Egyptian loves the biggest occasions, as he proved again in the win at Manchester United, and the Middle East would be a waste of his talents at this stage of his career. It cannot be ruled out in the distant future but certainly should be in the immediate term.
Real Madrid might be tempted to make a move for Salah on a free transfer but Carlo Ancelotti's attack is already stacked. Barcelona , meanwhile, would have to jump through several economic hoops before it could even think about signing the 32-year-old.
PSG and Ligue 1 would surely not hold much of an appeal and even if Vincent Kompany manages to get Bayern Munich back to the top of the Bundesliga again, the German top flight doesn't have the same pull as elsewhere. Sadio Mane struggled in Bavaria and while it is unlikely that Salah would drop off physically in the way, it doesn't feel like that likely a move for him.
Mane wanted to try something different when he left Liverpool but only lasted a year in Germany before being flogged to Saudi Arabia. Losing him made sense for the Reds as well given they got a transfer fee and refreshed their forward line, but the grass didn't prove to be greener elsewhere.
With Salah's options somewhat limited, the fact that Liverpool is yet to open talks over a new deal with him is not necessarily an issue. There is still ample time for that to happen and his comments at the weekend pointed to the fact that he wants to stay.
It remains, though, an important period. Unless something changes in the next three or four months, clubs abroad could be circling as early as January 1, and Liverpool losing an asset so valuable for nothing should not be on the table.
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