Alan Shearer has expressed his astonishment at the prospect of Liverpool not securing Mohamed Salah’s future at Anfield. Shearer has given a nod to Arne Slot for steering the Reds to a commanding 13-point lead in the league, despite the absence of significant acquisitions last summer.
Salah, who tops the scoring charts this season with 25 goals, has been pivotal in making Liverpool the clear frontrunners for a second Premier League title in five years. His stellar form has even sparked conversations about him being a contender for the Ballon d’Or.
Shearer, in conversation with Betfair, is confident that Liverpool will manage to keep its star forward: “I think without a doubt that this is the best version of Mo Salah we’ve seen,” he remarked.
“I said earlier in the season that we should see what happens in terms of a 1 percent drop in his levels due to his contract situation; but that hasn’t happened, on the contrary he seems to be getting even better and stronger as the season goes on.
“There’s still no word on his contract situation, but I’d be amazed if Liverpool don’t sort something out to keep him at least for another year or two. Losing Mo Salah would be huge for Liverpool and the Premier League, because he’s an iconic player.
“Everything he’s doing right now seems to result in either a goal or an assist. Even against Newcastle, Lewis Hall gave him a really good battle, but some of his bits of quality were just superb. He is an icon of the Premier League, no doubt about it.
“What’s impressed me the most about Liverpool this season is that, besides Federico Chiesa, it didn’t sign anyone, which is really unusual. Other than Liverpool fans, and maybe Arne Slot, I’m not sure even he would have thought his side could do as well as they have. Liverpool has just been strong in every position.
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“It was largely thought that it needed a midfielder and they went for Martin Zubimendi, before the season, but couldn’t get him. Slot has stuck with what he had, with Chiesa hardly having played at all.
“That is what’s impressed me, having gone again with basically the same team. Liverpool looks stronger than anyone else in midfield, and similarly in forward positions because there are so many options.”
“Certainly in defense as well, Liverpool has given one or two chances away, but in the main Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk have been absolutely superb. Wherever you look, all over the pitch, they’ve been dominant and you can’t say anything other than that it has been the best team by an absolute mile.”
