While the questions swirl around some elements of the new Premier League season, Mohamed Salah will find comfort in his continuity at Liverpool.
The Egyptian has been all smiles across the Reds' summer schedule, perhaps safe in the knowledge of having resolved his future before a pre-season jog had even taken place at the start of the month.
A three-year extension has made Salah the highest-paid player of all time at Anfield as Liverpool reconfigured their much discussed wage structure to ensure they retained one of world football's very best goalscorers.
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Believed to be earning somewhere between £350,000 and £400,000 based on his contributions, some would suggest there is a reason Salah has appeared content this summer, but it is more likely that his serenity comes from a place of having the next few years of his career and life on Merseyside mapped out.
While Manchester City and Liverpool adjust to new marquee signings leading the line this season in Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez, the would-be hopefuls of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham have also looked to redress the balance of their own squads with significant additions.
But while the questions remain over how the likes of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison will perform at their new clubs, there is five years of evidence to suggest Salah will once more be the star man in the Premier League.
Heading into his sixth season at the club, the man so affectionately known as the 'Egyptian King' on the Kop is aiming for his fourth Golden Boot. Inside the top 10 of all-time scorers at Anfield, Salah has already privately joked with the legendary Ian Rush that his record tally of 346 is under threat.
How much of a serious element there is to that jest, only Salah will know, but it speaks to his insatiable thirst for goals and improvement that he is even contemplating it just now having registered 156 times for the Reds.
"I’ve won almost everything with the team,” Salah says of his success with Liverpool. “I didn’t notice that until Trent [Alexander-Arnold] came up to me after the FA Cup final and said: ‘By the way, we have won pretty much everything here’.
“So I think I have won almost everything at Liverpool, collectively and individually, but there is always room to win more and I always want to win something for a second or third or fourth time. That’s my mentality.”
Such a train of thought is typical of a player who has dedicated himself to his craft over much of the last decade. His drive and determination to extract the absolute most from his talent is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, who, at 37, is after a move away from Manchester United to show he can continue showcasing his talents on the big stage in the Champions League.
It's why Liverpool are firm in their belief that Salah, despite having turned 30 last month, can continue on his current trajectory for years to come. Late-night recovery sessions, the strictest of diets and a devotion to the right preparation have all helped take the No.11 to the upper echelons of the game.
This season, however, is not without its own questions at Anfield. While Salah is almost a guarantee of goals and performances, the departure of Sadio Mane and the subsequent arrival of Nunez means a reconfiguration of sorts will be needed in the forward line, particularly as Luis Diaz, a January signing from Porto, gets set for his own first full campaign in England.
Liverpool's players and staff have spoken about how impressed they were with Nunez during the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final tie when he scored two of his 34 goals that season against the Reds.
Klopp was said to have 'fallen in love' - to quote one source - during his time analysing the powerful frontman in the build up to that game and the excitement around him is growing within the camp.
Salah adds: "I’m so excited and I want to play with Nunez. He had a good season and played well against us, home and away [for Benfica in last season’s Champions League].
“Sadio has left and I’m going to miss him. He had great seasons with the club, so I wish him all the best. I wish Darwin all the best too, and to score many goals for us."
If Nunez represents the Great Unknown for Liverpool heading into the season, then they at least know what they are getting with a refreshed and recharged Salah.
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