As Trent Walks Away, Mo Salah Doubles Down on Liverpool Legacy

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How did Trent impact the Salah/Van Dijk contract saga and was this Liverpool’s plan all along.

(Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The Liverpool Sporting Director has received criticism this season.

Apart from a £12.5 million Federico Chiesa punt which hasn’t paid off thus far, Liverpool have been inactive in terms of future squad planning.

The infamous three Salah, Trent and Van Dijk contracts of were running down with no apparent breakthroughs in sight.

Finally, Richard Hughes and the Liverpool Board do what every fan has demanded since the beginning.



(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time Mohammed Salah has had an incredible season with an ongoing and uncertain contract discussion.

Following an remarkable first season in which he scored a record breaking 32 Premier League goals, he signed a 5 year deal to keep him at the club till 2023.

This would be the last ‘drama free’ Mo Salah contract renewal at Liverpool.

In 2021/22 with only a year left on his deal, Mo Salah had a phenomenal individual season.

That year he went on to celebrate his 100th Premier League goal and finished that campaign with a 46 goal contributions in 51 games.

That season Liverpool narrowly missed out on the ‘Quadruple’.

After winning both The FA and Carabao Cup, they lost to Real Madrid in the final and missed out on the Premier League by 1 point on the final day.

This season was the first time we heard the term ‘contract negotiation Salah’, in relation to his excellent performances when his contract is due to expire.

After long and arduous negotiations over a sizable pay rise, he eventually earned himself and new £350,000 p/w contract which kept him until the summer of 2025.

His exceptional performances were hard to deny, and made his wage demands more palpable.

Mo Salah yet again entered the final year of his contract.

It might not have seemed like it at the time, but the club and it’s board made wise decisions.

If a player has significant increase in output due to a desire to secure a new deal, then the timing of the Mo Salah contract makes perfect sense.

Delay the decision, get the most out of the player whilst allowing yourself time to make the correct call.

An aspect that is underappreciated in signing Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah to new deals is their impact around the entire club, including players, coaches and ultimately fans.

They are the key figures in terms of the Leadership structure within the squad.

Losing that calibre of personality would’ve had a certain negative impact.

Now when players hear Liverpool want to sign them, they’ll know Mo Salah and Virgil Van Dijk will be a part of their future.