Premier League English

Jurgen Klopp, diplomatic as always, gives reassurance about star player Salah’s future

When any footballer publicly makes known his admiration and secret penchant to play for another club, that is almost always a clear sign – be it due to an inner brooding discontentment or by coldly premeditated intention for self-advancement – the handwriting is already on the wall to be taken notice of that said footballer is either playing a dangerous hand of poker or a game of Russian roulette.

This is particularly so in the case of prima donnas – regardless of whether they are able to consistently deliver thd results expected of them or otherwise as in the case of the opportunists whose market value and abilities have been oversold by their equally self-serving agents obsessed only with the glorification and advancement of primarily themselves and then only their clients, in that order.

Fortunately for Liverpool, it is definitely a case of the prima donna who does consistently deliver the goods, and more often than not with infinite class and panache on and off the pitch. Love him or loathe him, Mohamed Salah is one such individual with the sparkling sizzle as an intuitive, talented player able to instantly pounce on a split-second opportunity to drive a ball goal-bound, and also with the fizzle as a lit fuse to detonate anytime at will in the opposition’s goalmouths when least expected.

Mo is reported to be nursing some unhappiness with his current situation at Anfield and is rumored to be looking at the La Liga as a greener pasture. However there is little chance of that happening with the ever-diplomatic Jurgen Klopp as the manager extraordinaire suddenly popping up and standing firm on the future of his star striker.

Speaking with Sky Sports, the suave Liverpool boss has played down claims that Mohamed Salah is looking for a move away from the Premier League Champions roost.

“Mo is in a good mood and moment, shape and that is the most important thing,” said the Liverpool boss. “You would have seen him laughing a lot [today]. The rest is nice for you to write about but internally, nothing really [to say].”

Klopp is always the quick-draw McGraw to play down media hype, wearing an affable, congenial smile on his face to mask whatever real internal concerns he may have. In the case of Salah, whose head is said to have been turned by the likes of Spanish league giants Barcelona and Real Madrid – with the rumours emanating from an interview that the Egyptian striker gave to Madrid-based newspaper AS, where he revealed his admiration for both clubs – Klopp’s off-the-cuff reply was curt when asked about whether any contract talks had taken place with Salah, who has two and a half years remaining on his current deal:

“We never speak [about contracts],” said the 53-year-old.

However, Goal’s Neil Jones writes that they are ‘certain’ to offer star Salah a new contract in an attempt to fend off interest. Hardly surprising considering Salah has scored 13 times in 13 games for Liverpool this season and is once more spearheading Liverpool’s new charge for the title.

The Reds sit top of the table heading into the festive fixture schedule and Salah’s goals will be the coup de grace if Klopp’s team are to retain the Premier League title that for so agonizingly long had eluded them until last season’s penultimate, gut-wrenching triumph.