Manchester United supporters must have hoped they had seen the last of Liverpool superstar Mo Salah.
No player in the Premier League era has scored more goals against the Red Devils than him, after all.
But with a proposed summer switch to Saudi Arabia not forthcoming, the Old Trafford faithful will have to endure another afternoon watching through their fingers as Mo Salah looks to extend his remarkable tally in the North West derby this Sunday.
Salah is staying at Liverpool this season.
But, with his contract expiring in 2025, the good news for Man United is that this weekend may be the very last time the so-called Egyptian King walks onto the Old Trafford pitch.
“I don’t think much (about the future) to be fair,” Salah tells Sky Sports in the build up to this weekend’s crunch clash while doing little to calm the fears of Liverpool supporters dreading the day of his departure.
“I just came for a season and I said; ‘OK, I have one year left, so let’s just enjoy. Don’t think about the contract, don’t think about anything and really just enjoy it.’
“I don’t want to think about next year. I don’t want to think about the future, I just (say); ‘OK, let’s enjoy the last year and we will see.’ Just take one day at a time.”
Liverpool close in on Juventus winger Federico Chiesa
With the being a very real chance that this is Salah’s Anfield swansong, suddenly the deal to bring in Federico Chiesa from Juventus makes that little bit more sense.
On paper, Chiesa might struggle to force his way into Arne Slot’s current XI. Not with Salah on the right, Luis Diaz on the left, and Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo also fighting for a place.
But if Salah is to depart less than 12 months from now, perhaps Italy speedster Chiesa is part of Liverpool’s succession plan.
HITC reported on Wednesday that Slot’s team are closing in on a deal that could cost them around £12 million. Chiesa, speaking with a backpack on and a passport in his pocket, admitted that he was thrilled at the prospect of kick-starting his career on Merseyside.
Former Juventus and Italy team-mate Federico Bernardeschi appears equally delighted.
“I’m happy for Fede,” Bernardeschi, who now plays in the MLS for Toronto FC, tells Gazzetta dello Sport. “And I’m sure he can do well in the Premier League.”
Liverpool may be planning for Mo Salah departure
Chiesa certainly has the pace and the directness to strike fear into the heart of those English-based full-backs, though his hopes of success in a Liverpool shirt will likely depend on whether he can avoid a repeat of the injury issues that have dogged him since his ‘unbelievable’ displays at Euro 2020.
“I was a little bit surprised because of the numbers they have already got in the attacking areas,” former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy tells talkSPORT (28 August, 11.30am) when asked about Chiesa’s likely arrival on Merseyside, feeling he may be a risk worth taking at such a fee.
“(But) at that price…
“He is rapid. He can play both sides, and maybe give Salah on the right a little bit of support so (Slot) can rotate,” adds Murphy, who won the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Cup under the late Gerard Houllier in 2001.
“We will have to wait and see. He hasn’t quote hit the heights since the euros but he is a real threat.”
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