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James Pearce has revealed what is worrying him about the protracted Mohamed Salah talks.

Salah’s contract situation, now lingering unresolved for 18 months, has become emblematic of the complexities surrounding modern football negotiations.

With his current deal set to expire in June 2025, the uncertainty surrounding his future has drawn intensified interest from the Saudi Pro League (SPL), whose wealthy clubs are ready to capitalize should talks between Salah and Liverpool collapse.

The SPL’s pursuit of Salah is not new but has regained momentum in recent months.

Back in August 2023, Liverpool rejected a record-breaking £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad for the Egyptian forward.

As his contract edges closer to expiration, Saudi clubs remain poised to make another move, leveraging their financial might to lure one of football’s biggest global icons.

This ongoing saga comes at a critical juncture for Liverpool, who are comfortably leading the Premier League table.

Under manager Arne Slot, Salah has rediscovered his peak form, emerging as the favorite for the PFA Player of the Year award while spearheading Liverpool’s title charge.

And James Pearce, speaking on the Athletic’s Walk On podcast, has explained why the situations of Salah and Van Dijk have required so much deliberation:

“The reason why it’s dragged on for as long as it has with Salah and Van Dijk is the fact that recency bias can take place, and you can say, ‘well both are struggling’.

“But when you take a step back and think, one of them has scored 32 goals in a team that’s about to win the Premier League – and another one has proved, at 33, that for the most part of the season we’ve been talking about him as still the best centre-back in European football.”

“And that’s why it’s dragged on, because it’s not cut-and-dry, is it.

Of course, with how good they’ve been Liverpool will want them to stay – with the caveat being you have to protect the club [financially] going forward.”

He then revealed that the drop-off from Salah has been worrying him, with Pearce outlining a poor return of goals for the Egyptian, which hopefully does not have any bearing on contract negotiations:

“I still think the most likely scenario is that they both stay.”

“Out of the two, Salah’s drop-off in the last month worries me a lot more than Van Dijk?

Salah’s had a pretty tough month,” he explained.

“For a player who caused so much trouble for defenders this season, the fact that his only goals in his last seven were two penalties vs Southampton.”

“And it’s not like he’s being denied by worldie performances by goalkeepers or misfortune, he’s actually not having the same kind of impact on games as he was.”

Mohamed Salah’s current Liverpool contract, a three-year extension signed in 2022, earns him a substantial £350,000 per week.

While Liverpool’s hierarchy may be carefully evaluating the financial implications of offering a new deal to the 32-year-old, it is evident that Salah remains a statistical anomaly in terms of his performance and consistency.

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