Jurgen Klopp has reiterated his confidence over Mohamed Salah’s long-term Liverpool future, claiming the lengthy negotiations are normal for a contract of its size. And the Reds boss says it is understandable that Salah’s renewal is taking longer than others within the squad.
Jurgen Klopp said “I don’t know what I can say on top of what I said already. What is the problem? I wouldn’t say there is a problem to be honest. These are conversations. I’m not sure if two big companies try to come together, usually in normal life and business that is not done overnight. Signing a big contract, it is not like buying a smartphone where you just sign one thing and it is done. There are a lot of things to consider, some from the club’s side and some from the player’s side and a lot from the agent’s side. That’s the thing. Nothing else.”
The Reds manager also admitted that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was disappointed not to have started Thursday night’s goalless draw with Arsenal. Klopp’s side were held by a Gunners team who played over two thirds of the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie with a man less following Granit Xhaka’s sending off. Oxlade-Chamberlain was eventually introduced for James Milner but Klopp says the attacking midfielder was frustrated at being left out.
Jurgen Klopp added: “I’m very happy with Ox but what I know is he was disappointed last night. I get that 100 per cent. I would have been. The thing is that with the situation we are in we had to think how we start and how we can change and the game developed slightly differently than we expected. Ox could have started, he is in good shape, he is in a really good moment. For me it was about starting how we started, and we had with Curtis Jones and Oxlade, two offensive options wherever we use them and that is it. But I’m absolutely happy with Ox, he is in a really good moment and we will see that in the next few weeks.”
Liverpool made it priority to tie their top stars down last year as they secured a slew of new deals for a host of their biggest names. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Jordan Henderson all signed new contracts last summer, but Salah remains on the same deal he agreed in 2018. The Egypt star, who is currently on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, was quoted this week in an interview with GQ saying that he was “not asking for crazy stuff” with regards to his demands.
