Jamie Carragher has been discussing Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool future and reckons the Egyptian has got the same problem as Harry Kane when it comes to potential transfers.
Despite being the Premier League’s leading goalscorer, Salah’s future at Anfield has been questioned after a wide-ranging interview he gave with the Spanish publication AS in December, in whichhe refused to rule out potential transfers to Real Madrid or Barcelona, as well as speaking of his disappointment at not being handed the captain’s armband for a Champions League dead rubber at Midtjylland.
The remarks elicited a response from manager Jurgen Klopp and speculation has continued over the subsequent months.
Further concerns over Salah’s body language – he cut a disgruntled figure when being substituted against former club Chelsea earlier this month, prompting a cryptic tweet from his agent Ramy Abbas Issa – led to Kop Idol Robbie Fowler declaring in his Mirror column that Liverpool should cash in on the player this summer if he no longer wants to remain at the club.
However, speaking on Fowler’s own podcast, Carragher explained why he believes that Salah, who will be 29 by the time next season kicks off, will not be making a Reds exit.
He said: “I think he’ll be there for the next two years. I think he’s in a similar situation to Harry Kane (who is 13 months younger).
“They’re possibly the two best goalscorers in the Premier League right now.
“They’re at an age where nobody is going to pay big money for them.
“I think they’ve probably missed the boat if they did want to go, whether that’s to a Real Madrid or Barcelona or whether it’s Harry Kane going to Manchester United or City.
“For both those players you’d be talking £120million plus, maybe more and I just don’t think anybody would spend that much on players of that age now.”
Carragher reckoned that teams would be more inclined to spend a greater fee on younger players because they offered potentially longer-term investments.
He added: “I think you’d be looking more at paying £200million for Kylian Mbappe because of the longevity, maybe the same with Erling Haaland too because you’d get so much more out of them.
“Also the situation that we’re in with COVID and finances, the two Spanish giants have got no money, they’re massively in debt.
“So Liverpool wouldn’t let Salah go to anyone in this country and would you want to play for Paris Saint-Germain rather than Liverpool? I’d be very surprised if you did with the French league. I think Salah is here to stay.”
