It’s a contract announcement which has been greeted with delirium on Merseyside, but perhaps not the one Liverpool supporters anticipated.
On Thursday it was confirmed that Jurgen Klopp had signed a two-year extension which will see him remain at the Premier League giants until at least 2026. Previously, it had been expected that the talismanic German head coach could call time on his stint at Anfield when his deal expired in 2024.
Mirror Football reported that it was Klopp himself who initiated the talks over a new deal - despite having refused to discuss an extension when the club had previously put forward the idea. But with a Liverpool team still in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple, his hunger is as strong as ever.
And with Klopp’s agreement in place and no further uncertainty over the man in the dugout, thoughts can now turn towards the other major contract issues - in particular Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian forward is currently due to become a free agent at the end of next season and despite lengthy talks between his representatives and the club, the two parties remain at an impasse. "I can't be selfish and talk about my situation,” Salah told Sky Sports earlier this month.
"That is all I can say. Hopefully we are going to be more optimistic and see what is going to happen." And in a subsequent interview with FourFourTwo, he insisted that any lingering doubts had nothing to do with financial incentives.
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“I think the fans know what I want, but in the contract it’s not everything about the money at all. So I don’t know, I can’t tell you exactly. I have one year left and the fans know what I want.”
If money was not an issue, knowing Jurgen Klopp - the man who has helped him develop into the world’s most dangerous forward - is staying at the club, could alleviate some other potential sticking points. Mirror Football understands that Klopp has made it clear he wants Salah to sign a new deal and still sees him as central to his plans.
That could yet provide Salah the kind of additional incentive he needs to finally get the ball rolling and get a deal confirmed, sooner rather than later.
“I’ve enjoyed my football here more than anywhere, I gave the club everything and everybody saw that. I’ve had a lot of unbelievable moments here, winning trophies, individual goals, individual trophies,” he added.
With Klopp set to stay for the foreseeable future, his negotiating hand has never been stronger and it stands to reason that his best player’s future may have come up during those talks in the Anfield boardroom.
There’s no reason to suggest that Liverpool and Klopp won’t continue their dominance not only over most of England, but the majority of England and that could give Salah the decisive push to sign on the dotted line at long last.
