Journalist suggests Arne Slot may have subtly dropped big hints about Mo Salah’s contract today | OneFootball

One of the most trusted reporters on Liverpool FC has suggested that Arne Slot may have dropped some subtle hints about Mo Salah’s contract situation when speaking to the media on Tuesday.

The Reds boss held his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of the midweek clash against Newcastle, and it was notable that he twice alluded to the Egyptian’s future at Anfield despite not being asked directly about the topic.

He firstly joked about his relief at no longer being quizzed about the matter – something which had been standard in media briefings earlier in the season, only to be repeatedly dismissed out of hand by the 46-year-old.

Slot then stated with a cheeky grin that either renewing Salah’s contract would become ‘more expensive’ if he continues to score so consistently, or would prompt ‘second thoughts’ from FSG if the winger’s form were to tail off.

Positive signs from Slot that Salah will sign new contract?

David Lynch was among the reporters at this morning’s press conference, and he was struck by the good-humoured demeanour with which the Dutchman addressed the 32-year-old’s contractual situation.

In a video on his YouTube channel, the journalist reflected: “You look at the manager – so, so relaxed about it. Surely all the signs point to the fact that this will get over the line and Liverpool are going to sort it out. I just can’t see him being the one to bring it up in press conferences if it was a really fraught negotiation where we don’t think there’s going to be any breakthrough.

“Of course we’d like to hear about that breakthrough as soon as humanly possible. You want to get that sorted ASAP and the same goes for Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, but I’m getting real signs from the manager.

“Even though he didn’t give too much away in what he actually said, I still think there are signs there in his demeanour in how he’s discussed this Mo Salah contract today which points towards this getting resolved.

“It also helps that we haven’t heard from Mo himself. He doesn’t seem to be as frustrated about the situation as he maybe was a couple of months ago, so are we getting signs there that maybe this is about to be resolved? Let’s hope so, because that would be a huge boost for Liverpool.”

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Interesting that Slot brought it up today…

Clearly Slot isn’t going to disclose anything groundbreaking in relation to the contract negotiations with Salah until such time that the deal is officially confirmed, but with Lynch being a regular on the Liverpool beat, it’s striking that he’s read something significant into the head coach’s handling of the topic this morning.

It’s certainly noteworthy that the Reds boss has gone from automatically rejecting any and all questions about the situation to today referencing it twice without any prompting from the press pack.

Of course, such analysis of the 46-year-old’s body language is speculative until we hear formal confirmation as to whether or not the Egyptian will sign a new deal at Anfield, but this appears to be one of the strongest hints yet towards that happening.

With Salah already registering 30 goals and 21 assists this season and being touted as an early candidate for this year’s Ballon d’Or, it goes without saying that we’d all love to see him agreeing a contract extension and continuing to excel in a Liverpool shirt for at least another campaign or two.

Hopefully the cheerful manner in which Slot alluded to this lingering spectre over the club does indeed point towards a confidence behind the scenes that our number 11 will remain on Merseyside beyond the summer of 2025!