£100m offer accepted, Arne Slot dilemma - Mohamed Salah Liverpool future verdict given

Mohamed Salah hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after Liverpool's 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.

Left on the bench for the fixture in the capital, Salah became involved in a heated exchange with Jurgen Klopp as he readied himself to enter the field of play. Darwin Nunez took it upon himself to cool down the Egyptian, who could be seen raising his finger in the direction of the Liverpool boss as the pair continued to bicker.

Klopp attempted diffused the situation when speaking after the match, insisting he had spoken to Salah about it in the dressing room, only for the forward to claim "There is going to be fire if I speak."

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Salah's conduct, coupled with his poor form in recent weeks, has left many questioning whether the 31-year-old will still be a Liverpool player come the start of next season. The 2019 Champions League winner has one year remaining on his contract and was the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia last summer, resulting in a bid worth £150million being made.

So, what should happen next regarding the Reds' No.11? Our writers have had their say...

Paul Gorst

Two years ago, the decision to hand Mohamed Salah the biggest contract of all time at Liverpool was taken on the trust and belief in the player himself from the club's owners Fenway Sports Group. Salah backed himself to continue posting the sorts of numbers that had done as a matter of routine across his previous time on Merseyside and the 54 goals scored since have justified that stance at the time.

The question now then is whether the current malaise is a signal of some wider, irreversible decline or is this a player simply suffering from a rare hamstring issue that has contributed towards him playing just 804 Liverpool minutes of the last 2,400.

The prospect of a big-money move to Saudi Arabia seemed a more realistic prospect last year and is perhaps being overstated somewhat this time around. Is the appetite still there from Europe's top stars to move to the Middle East after such an underwhelming season of low-grade football played in front of tiny crowds? That's before we even assess whether or not Saudi Pro League clubs are still content to bankroll the chaos that the market became last summer.

So, for Liverpool, the prospect is more of how much they believe Salah is capable of snapping out of this current run of form. Can the Egyptian get back this very best? That is a question that FSG's CEO of Football Michael Edwards must get to the bottom of alongside sporting director Richard Hughes and Arne Slot, who is now almost certain to be the anointed one to replace Jurgen Klopp.

If the answer is no, then a sale must be a priority this summer to help supplement the squad's rebuilding. If the belief is that he will, then negotiations need to be stepped up sooner rather than later. One way or another, Salah is a situation that will need addressing as one of the first ports of call for a brand new power axis at Anfield. It is one they must absolutely get right.

Tom Cavilla

If this is to be Mohamed Salah's final season at the club, it is not shaping up to be the glorious farewell many would have predicted.

Salah has lost his way in front of goal in recent weeks, although he is not alone in that department, and did not appear to be at all pleased after being named on the bench for Liverpool's game at West Ham.

His actions on the sidelines were simply out of order and has only increased suspicions that all is not well at Liverpool right now, for whatever reason that may be.

The Reds turned down an offer worth £150m for his services last summer and this decision seemed shrewd in the opening months of the season as Salah continued his relentless form, scoring 15 times in the first 20 Premier League games. He has sadly not looked the same player since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with an injury and has left the club with a difficult decision to make. Is this just a blip and subsequent loss of consequence, or are we seeing the start of a player who has reached his peak and is on the way down? It's hard to say at this stage.

One thing that is certain is the Reds' attack is in need of a refresh this summer, with Darwin Nunez another player who could be moved on to make changes in this area possible. If Liverpool were to receive another big-money bid from the Middle East, this could be the right time to cash in.

If there is life after Klopp for the Reds, the same will certainly apply in the case of Salah. Both individuals will nonetheless be recognised as legendary figures in the club's history, even if things end on a sour note.

Tom Doyle

Mohamed Salah will rightly go down as one of the best transfer deals in Liverpool's history - but selling him could also go down as another key deal. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia want Salah as a marquee signing, and are willing to spend well over £100million on the transfer fee alone to land the Egyptian King.

If Jurgen Klopp had been staying on, the touchline spat between him and Salah at West Ham would likely have signalled a parting of ways this summer - but with Klopp already off, the Anfield hierarchy will not have to pick sides. Liverpool look like they will fall short in the Premier League title race in Klopp's final season on Merseyside, and the squad reflects where the Reds are right now: good, but not quite good enough.

Arne Slot is an expensive successor to Klopp, but the belief is that by hiring a coach who already fits the squad's general style, the Reds can save more money without an expensive transfer rebuild. Still, it is no secret that Liverpool will need to spend this summer: they need a quality centre-back, inspiration in midfield, another goalscorer - and none of that comes cheap.

Selling Salah for a nine-figure fee and getting his substantial salary off the wage bill would free up valuable funds to strengthen the squad, and put the club in a healthy position to comply with Premier League financial rules ahead of a return to lucrative Champions League football. The risk of selling a player like Salah, of course, is that he has proven his world-class ability time and again.

On form, he is the best all-round forward in the Premier League. Salah keeps himself in prime condition and will only turn 32 in June, so could conceivably continue at this level for another five years at least. If you ask Slot whether he wants Salah in his starting line-up, chances are he would say yes - and most other coaches, for that matter.

Watching Salah thrive in the Saudi league rather than for a direct rival would soften the blow considerably, as would a mammoth transfer fee and the opportunity for Slot to recruit quality additions to a squad which is in need of fine-tuning rather than reconstruction.

The truth is that Liverpool stand to benefit from whichever decision they take on Salah: keep him, and they retain a world-class talent who could guide the Reds through a potentially tricky start to life without Klopp; sell him, and Slot has a transfer war-chest to immediately realise his vision for a new Liverpool.

Kieran Horn

The thought of Jurgen Klopp not being Liverpool manager is one thing, but Anfield also without Mohamed Salah is unthinkable. The duo have epitomised Liverpool over the last seven years, with numerous historic moments coming but it could all end in ugly fashion.

The spat between Klopp and Salah as the latter was coming on from the bench for the final minutes against West Ham was not what anyone wanted to see. The German leaving after was undoubtedly bound to cause shockwaves throughout the club and one thing to factor in would have been player morale.

Every player at Liverpool has either come through the academy under Klopp or been signed by Klopp but it is now time for a new era, and that may be without Salah. Arne Slot is set to take the reigns and thus a major transition will arrive which could also begin a painful rebuild.

A lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia arrived last summer and considering the direction Liverpool are now heading in without Klopp, if something similar is placed on the table, it must be accepted. The funds acquired could go a long way for Slot and the new recruitment to me and with Salah not getting any younger, the time has come for a difficult decision to be made even though it is the right one.

Isaac Seelochan

The sight of Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah arguing on Saturday was one of the most shocking images of the season. No one saw it coming.

Liverpool fans will agree that both figures have been the key reason behind their resurgence over the past five or six years. Klopp's superb management mixed with Salah's phenomenal goalscoring feats have been key to silverware success at Anfield.

But as this glorious chapter in the club's history comes towards an end, it appears that now is the time for Liverpool's No. 11 to join his manager out of the exit door. It can be no coincidence that the Egyptian's drop in form has coincided with the Reds' collapse in recent weeks.

However, the 31-year-old's top level may never return, so the time has come for Liverpool to move on as a new era begins. A big money offer must be accepted with the player himself surely ready to acknowledge that his time on Merseyside is drawing to a close.