'I am not surprised Saudi wants him' - Arne Slot keen for Mo Salah to stay at Liverpool

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot wants Mohamed Salah to extend his contract with the Premier League leaders and has spoken to him, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold about their futures.

The trio are all out of contract in the summer and Salah, in particular, has made numerous public comments and earlier this month said a breakthrough in negotiations was "far away".

Speculation continues to link him with a mega-money move to the Saudi Pro League and on Thursday the country's sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said the Egypt international was "a big prize" and the country "would love to have him".

Liverpool rejected a £150million bid from Al Ittihad in September 2023, but with time ticking down on Salah’s contract, fears continue to grow he could leave for nothing at the end of the season.

"I would be surprised if there was anyone wherever around the world saying 'We don’t want Mo Salah’," was Slot’s response to the Saudi sports minister’s charm offensive.

"He’s doing so well for so many years that everyone probably wants him. He has done so well without my advice for a long time so he can probably keep doing what is best for his career even without my advice.

"But my advice to him would be different to the one (man) you just mentioned.

"Everyone wants him, including us – we want him to extend, of course. That is clear.

"I am not surprised that Saudi wants him – but I would not be surprised if other countries wanted him as well.

"He is old enough and wise enough and done so many smart things in his career he will make the right decision for himself and hopefully for us as well."

Slot is not involved in contract negotiations as they are handled by sporting director Richard Hughes (below, right) but he has