Mohamed Salah's Liverpool future is a hot topic at Anfield. But amid all the intrigue over whether he will extend his stay past the summer, one football insider has suggested Jurgen Klopp nearly lost the talisman earlier, only for the arrival of Arne Slot to change the picture.

It would be an understatement to say that Salah has not allowed the speculation to distract him. Incredibly, he is putting in his best ever Liverpool season, potentially firing Slot to a Premier League title at the first attempt.

But playing amid uncertainty is nothing new for Salah. For one thing, Liverpool went through a similar contract rigmarole just three years ago — and it has been claimed that even after that, the Egyptian was minded to leave the club under Klopp.

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It is no secret that Saudi Arabia has been a persistent suitor over the past few years — late in the summer 2023 transfer window, Al Ittihad tabled a $187m (£150m) bid, and there were rumors that it was prepared to go higher. Should he depart this summer, the Kingdom still seems like his most likely destination.

However, Slaven Bilic has claimed that most observers do not realize just how close Salah came to leaving for the Saudi Pro League before now. The former West Ham boss was manager of Al-Fateh last season, and previously had a spell at Al-Ittihad (albeit long before the Salah links, and indeed the arrivals of Fabinho, N'Golo Kante and Karim Benzema).

"Mohamed Salah is the best striker in the Premier League, he is the best winger in the Premier League and he is the best number 10 in the Premier League," Bilic purred to BetMGM. "There has definitely been a change this season under Arne Slot as, having been in Saudi Arabia last year, I know he wasn’t happy under Jurgen Klopp and we were expecting him to move.

"The whole of Saudi was ready for him and he would have been the star of the league. As far as we were all concerned, it was done and Mo Salah was going to join Al-Ittihad."

Liverpool was never likely to countenance a deal in 2023, just a year after agreeing an extension and given no time to even attempt to source a vaguely suitable replacement. But in 2024, with no new contract agreed and just a year left to run on the deal, movement might have been possible.

But it seems the arrival of Slot was well-timed, at least as far as Bilic is concerned. Salah and Klopp clearly had an excellent working relationship, but tension did boil over at times in the latter months.

As for Slot, it is clear that Salah loves working with him. His agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, praised the new head coach last month for being "excellent at his job".

Bilic is not sure whether this is the year when Salah will finally make the move, but he is convinced the offer from Saudi Arabia will remain on the table. He also cannot see the 32-year-old going anywhere else:

"I wasn’t surprised he didn’t move [before], though," Bilic admitted. "He knows the move is there for him when he wants to leave Liverpool — it’s not a one-year "take it or leave it" project in Saudi.

"I think if he leaves it will be to Saudi Arabia. I can’t imagine him at another Premier League club."

Liverpool, of course, still harbors hopes of keeping Salah, who has proved beyond all doubt that he can continue to be a central figure as the Slot era unfolds. If he does leave, then Bilic may well be right about his destination — but if Salah wants them, then there are a lot more records to break before then.