The Mohamed Salah contract saga is finally over but his new two-year deal doesn’t solve all of Arne Slot’s puzzles next season.
Liverpool have glided towards their second title of the Premier League era despite the ongoing distraction of three senior players being out of contract in the summer.
The future of Virgil van Dijk hasn’t yet been cleared up and Trent Alexander-Arnold is widely expected to join Real Madrid at the end of his deal at Anfield.
But 32-year-old Salah has been tied down for two more years, and Liverpool fans can look forward to yet more goals and assists from the most productive player in the Premier League.
The Egypt international leads the big five European leagues this season for both goals and assists this season, helping Liverpool take a commanding lead at the top of the division.
Liverpool face losing their key man for an astonishing ten matches next season, including a possible six in the Premier League, as a result of FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup and force the Africa Cup of Nations to move.
African internationals missing Premier League matches is a familiar compromise and one that is factored into transfers and contract decisions involving players likely to compete in the AFCON finals.
Traditionally played in January and into February, AFCON has undergone some significant reforms in recent years.
It switched to odd-numbered years from 2013 and the 2025 edition is scheduled to be played in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.
CAF has indicated a desire to move the Africa Cup of Nations to the summer but FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup will be played this summer in the United States.
That means that AFCON will not only keep its winter scheduling in 2025, but will be played in the busiest period of the Premier League calendar and English football season instead of the slightly more convenient weeks early in the new year.
Felix Keith at The Mirror has calculated the possible damage to Liverpool’s plans for Salah based on this season’s fixture list.
With travel and rest either side of a successful Africa Cup of Nations for Egypt, Salah would potentially miss six Premier League matches as well as one in each of the Champions League and FA Cup, and two in the Carabao Cup.
