Even if Mohamed Salah indicated a contract extension is “far away,” Arne Slot said the January transfer window won’t distract from Liverpool’s good form or lead him to lose control of his players.
Liverpool swept West Ham 5-0 to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League on the same day that Spanish reports said Trent Alexander-Arnold is close to joining Real Madrid when his contract expires in the summer.
Slot added, “I think I have a lot of control over what they do if they are on the training pitch or in a meeting with me. “I have no control over their private life. I control what I expect from them on the pitch and am excited to see Trent, Mo Salah, and Virgil van Dijk.
Slot also praised Salah, who had two assists and a goal in the London Stadium, and the team’s support of its stars. Salah has 17 goals and 13 assists in 18 games, the fastest to reach 30 Premier League goals.
“Mo and extraordinary have been used a lot in the last six months. He deserves this. His behavior is predictable. We know his abilities as a player. Besides that, he works hard when the other team has the ball. When he scores, other players create the chance. Putting him in those settings makes him extraordinary.”
Salah told Sky Sports: “No, we are far away from that” when asked if he expected contract news soon. I don’t want to post something in the media and have people say stuff but nothing happen.“
Slot said things change in January “not on the inside, but on the outside it definitely does, because probably people talk even more about it” about Salah’s contract.
Liverpool have scored three or more goals in seven away games this season in all competitions, but Slot denied they had improved in anything other than finishing. “Maybe we’re better, but not much. We improved at goal scoring. We had many chances to score more but missed them. We could have scored three more today.”
Julen Lopetegui was honest about West Ham’s loss. We didn’t deserve more, he said. It was a tough home loss. We must accept that these matches teach us a lot. Despite facing the world’s top team, we can improve.”
In the 37th minute, defender Joe Gomez left Sunday’s match with a hamstring injury, joining Ibrahima Konaté on the sidelines. Only Virgil van Dijk and Jarell Quansah are available as senior centre-backs, though midfielder Wataru Endo has experience.
Slot said, “It will be a while before he returns. He will be away for a while, I don’t know how long.”
