Michael Owen sends message to Mohamed Salah over his Liverpool future

Michael Owen fully expects Mohamed Salah to sign a new contract at Liverpool and says the superstar will go either ‘sideways or down’ if he decides to leave Anfield.

The Egypt forward, who will be out of contract in the summer of 2023, is currently locked in a stalemate with Liverpool over terms for a new deal.

Salah has previously said he wanted to stay at the Merseyside club but insisted his future is in Liverpool’s hands, while manager Jurgen Klopp is unsure if his player will put pen to paper on a contract extension as rival clubs begin to circle and declare their interest.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed five extraordinary seasons at Anfield, scoring 153 goals in 239 games and helping Liverpool win both the Premier League and Champions League under Klopp.

Former striker Owen told BBC Sport: ‘I’d be very surprised if Mo Salah didn’t sign with Liverpool. What are the options at the moment?

‘You are only going either sideways to Manchester City or down anywhere else because there is no-one else as good as these two teams in the world at the moment.

‘Let’s give everyone time because these things don’t happen overnight.

‘You are talking about one of the biggest clubs in the world and one of the biggest players in the world and that player is about to sign the biggest contract of his life.’

While former Liverpool star Owen wants Salah to sign a new deal at Anfield, he insists the Premier League club cannot cave into every player’s demands.

He added: ‘I think it’s entirely normal that negotiations can drag on a little bit. You can’t give players what they want. The whole game would be a disaster if that was the case.

‘Liverpool have got to run it as a business. They can’t, of course, give any player what they want because if