MOHAMED SALAH is edging closer to sorting out his future after entering “advanced” negotiations, according to reports.
Salah, 32, has had contract talk and transfer rumours swirling around him all season with his Liverpool contract expiring in the summer.
The Egyptian King, along with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold were the three high-profile stars on course to leave the club.
However, following reports this week that Alexander-Arnold has all-but agreed terms on a move to Real Madrid, Salah’s future has taken a fresh twist.
According to a report by Egyptian outlet Masrawy, Salah’s agent has now entered serious negotiations to extend the attacker’s Anfield stay.
A source told the site: “Liverpool’s management has opened negotiations with Rami Abbas, Mohamed Salah’s agent, to renew the Egyptian star’s contract with Liverpool for the time being.
“Negotiations between Liverpool and Rami Abbas, Salah’s agent, are much more advanced this time than ever before, and the offer presented is higher than any offer made to the player before.”
But this shift in stance from Liverpool, who were previously unwilling to meet Salah’s contract demands, has only come following Alexander-Arnold’s fate heading away from the club.
The report adds: “Alexander-Arnold’s imminent departure from Liverpool will be a major factor in Salah’s contract renewal, following the reduction of the club’s high salaries, allowing the Egyptian star to be given what he desires in his new contract with the Reds.”
According to Capology, the Englishman currently earns £180,000 per week, while Salah earns £350,000.
Salah is the club’s highest earner at present, while 26-year-old Alexander-Arnold is third in the rankings behind the winger and Van Dijk, who himself earns £220,000 per week.
Alexander-Arnold’s new wages in the Spanish capital will reportedly see him earn £240,000 a week.
With his expected move Alexander-Arnold will become only the seventh Englishman to play for Real Madrid, adding his name to a list including the likes of ex-Reds Steve Macmanaman and Michael Owen.
However, Liverpool could still land a fee for the defender after a new transfer window was agreed to allow clubs to sign and sell players ahead of the Club World Cup, which Real are competing in.
Los Blancos are willing to stump up a fee, understood to be around £5million, to sign him on June 1 so he can join England team-mate Jude Bellingham on the plane for the US-hosted tournament.
Liverpool fans have not taken the news of the homegrown star’s expected end-of-season departure well, and he will return after the international break to the cauldron of Anfield during a hotly contested Merseyside derby.
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