Martin Keown has theory behind cryptic Mohamed Salah Liverpool update

Former Arsenal stalwart Martin Keown has admitted that he expects Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool next summer after the forward's cryptic social media post following the Reds' win over Brighton.

The Egyptian king was on hand to grab Arne Slot's men all three points with a typical sumptuous curled strike in the 2-1 victory over the Seagulls at the weekend. The winger's winner proved his importance to the Merseysiders once more - with the goal his seventh in 10 league appearances so far this season.

With this latest moment of inspiration having put Liverpool top of the Premier League table at this early stage of the campaign, it remains to be seen whether it will form part of a long farewell for Salah at Anfield. With the 32-year-old having entered the final year of his contract, he will be free to leave the club for nothing next July as things stand.

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Amid the speculation over his Kop future, Salah issued an enigmatic message on his Twitter/X following the Brighton game, which read: "Top of the table is where this club belongs. Nothing less. All teams win matches but there’s only 1 champion in the end. That’s what we want. Thank you for your support last night. No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like."

Now, ex-England center back Keown has waded into the debate over whether the attacker will remain at Liverpool beyond the end of the current season. Speaking on TalkSport, he confessed that he does not expect Salah to sign a new deal, asserting: "I think he's savouring every single minute.

"This thing about 'never forget how I feel when I score at Anfield', I think he's playing every game like it's his last. That's the most important thing to concentrate on because he will be going in the summer. There will be no transfer fee for him and the riches on [offer]. He's 32, strikers dip a little."

Ahead of his team's Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, Reds boss Slot gave a diplomatic response when asked about the social media activity from his talisman. He said: "You interpreted it in a way that maybe other people don’t.

"I don’t look at Instagram posts of my players, I only talk to them which you can’t, which is the advantage I have. Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he has been at Liverpool, he has been in a very good place, but this season again as well.

"I am hoping he will make a post after tomorrow and on Saturday again. What he said with that, that is not important. For me what is important is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations. That is what matters and not how you guys interpret one of his posts."

As for whether he discussed the post with Salah, the Dutch coach confessed: "I haven’t spoken to him about that. We have spoken about Leverkusen because that team deserves all of our attention for the quality they have.

"He is out of contract at the end of the season - Virgil said something in the press - and now he has a post which you interpreted in a certain way. This will probably continue for as long as their futures are not clear. In the meantime, let’s hope they bring in performances like Mo and Virgil [van Dijk] had at the weekend."