Mo Salah transfer suggestion exposes key difference between Man City and Liverpool FC

What are the options at the moment?," asked Michael Owen. "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."

Owen was of course discussing Mohammed Salah's uncertain Liverpool future, with the star man yet to sign a new contract as he approaches the final 12 months of his current deal. If the situation isn't resolved, then Liverpool may have to decide to gamble and hope Salah stays, or sell him in the summer to risk losing him on a free transfer in 2023.

It's a situation City will be watching with interest. Though, of course, it seems like the stalemate is not because Salah sees his future away from Anfield, more on that later, and if he was to leave, it would surely not be an hour across the M62 to Manchester.

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Owen is probably right that any other step would be down, but Salah enjoys a god-like status in Liverpool. That's probably not worth risking to go to their biggest rivals for the next Premier League title they crave so much.

However, Owen's comments do expose an uncomfortable truth for Liverpool in some regard that will have been lingering for some time. For a club like Liverpool, having their talisman potentially run down his contract appears to be a sign that player and club are not exactly on the same page.

The hold-up can't be an issue over playing time, or the ambition of the club, or the direction they're going in. There are plenty of other logistical and financial aspects for players to consider, but often such factors will get sorted if all parties want a deal to be done. As Owen points out these big contracts