Mo Salah didn’t have the best of finishes to the 2023/24 season for Liverpool, certainly not by his standards, but it seems that he’s primed to banish that to memory over the next few months.
Speculation has been rife over his future at Anfield now that he’s 32 and into the final year of his £350,000-per-week contract (Capology), but he looked sharp in the win over Arsenal in midweek and also scored in that game.
Speaking on the Walk On Podcast, James Pearce waxed lyrical not just over the Egyptian’s Herculean physique, but also his demeanour around the camp during the pre-season tour to the USA.
The Athletic reporter said: “I think the standout one in terms of the frontline on this trip so far has been how good Salah looks.
“He only scored three in his last 11 appearances towards the end of last season. People pounced on that saying he’s 32 this summer and [asking] are we seeing a fading force, but he’s come back in better shape than me this summer!
“He absolutely smashed it in all of the pre-season testing they did at the AXA before he came over here. He just looks really happy, that’s the other thing.”
That touchline tiff with Jurgen Klopp in the 2-2 draw at West Ham in April – and the week-long media fallout from same – already feels like a long time ago.
Salah took his goal against Arsenal in Philadelphia with typical aplomb, and Pearce’s observation that the 32-year-old ‘looks really happy’ will be music to the ears of Liverpool fans who’d been fearing that the Egyptian King’s Anfield reign could’ve been hurtling towards a bitter end.
As the most senior player with the group in pre-season until Virgil van Dijk joins up with the camp, it appears that our number 11 has been setting a perfect example with the standards that he’s been exhibiting on the pitch and, by all accounts, behind the scenes.
Even if he’s not quite as explosive as the world-beating dynamo that we saw in his first three years at the club, his remarkably consistent scoring output continues to make him a crucial presence for the Reds, particularly for Arne Slot in his first season in charge.
A happy Salah for Liverpool is a potentially lethal and frightening Salah for the other 19 Premier League clubs in 2024/25!
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