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They remain 11 points clear of the Gunners and need just four wins from seven games to secure the championship.

Nevertheless, as Arsenal’s emphatic thrashing of Real Madrid showed on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta’s team are capable of closing the gap if Liverpool allow them to.

Part of the reason Reds supporters should not be unduly worried is because they have Mohamed Salah in their side.



And as Salah closes in on a new deal at Anfield, presenter Richard Keys has developed a theory over where his form has gone.

Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images

There has been some suggestion that the reason Salah has been in such blistering form this season is because he has been desperate to show Liverpool he deserved a new contract.

At 32, there was reason to believe the Egyptian King should be slowing down.

Instead, he has reached new levels.

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But while many will see his recent drop off as simply a natural blip, Keys took to X to put forward a different idea.

“I think Salah must’ve signed this contract 6 weeks ago – he hasn’t had a kick since,” mused the former Sky Sports presenter.

READ MORE: How long Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s new Liverpool contracts will be as extensions near

“It always happens when a player signs a new deal.”

Adding a shrug emoji as well as a crying laughing face, it’s possible that Keys was joking here.

But given some of his… interesting ideas of the past, he may well be deadly serious.

Although we wouldn’t put too much stock in this theory, it does speak to a wider expectation that Salah may drop off after signing another new deal.

Mohamed Salah pre February 23rdMohamed Salah post February 23rdApperances387Goals302Assists220

It is of course part of the reason things have taken so long to get sorted with the No.11.

He’ll turn 33 this summer and most players would be set for a sharp decline in the years immediately ahead.

Given the form he is in just now, it’s easy to make those assumptions with Salah as well.

Salah will decline eventually, that is clear, but the beauty of a two-year deal is that if he does not perform in 2025/26, the Reds could still sell him for a good fee to Saudi Arabia, for example.

In the meantime, we fully expect Salah to make a mockery of these claims and return to form in the final weeks of the campaign.
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