Liverpool sticking with Mohamed Salah was the right decision

The future of Mohamed Salah has been up for discussion for a long time now. It was at its most intense last summer when Al-Ittihad made an official bid for him late in the summer.

Liverpool resisted the overture and offers of riches to keep Salah for at least one more season. A lot of the consensus at the time was that he would then be allowed to leave this summer if things fell into place once more.

Fast forward to today and a sudden dip in form, along with the majority of the squad, has raised alarm bells for some. Talks of Salah being "washed" or "past it" have become more and more frequent.

The idea of Salah departing this summer became a less taboo subject and more people were seemingly okay with one of the 5 best players in the world over the last seven years just walking away.

Then came the incident with Jurgen Klopp on Saturday against West Ham. As Salah was preparing to come on late, the Reds conceded and tensions were high. Salah threw his arms out as Darwin Nunez needed to come between them.

It was something that you see all the time as star players and managers clash and don't always agree. It's a highly competitive sport and this is the highest level, so it makes sense they would be fired up at such a trying time.

However, the incident was very much blown up to unwarranted levels with some calling for Salah to never play another match as he had "disrespected" the club.

Yet, within the last few days it was confirmed that Salah would be staying at Anfield next season. There are also talks that a possible extension is in the works as well.

I'm here to tell you that this is the absolutely correct decision. Under Klopp, Liverpool have been restored to the elites of the game. That means that contending for silverware while fielding the best players possible is the minimum expectation.

Salah, even with this bad run, is still the best player in the squad. The numbers back him up and he is still the man to lead the attack under the incoming Arne Slot.

In the Premier League alone, Salah leads Liverpool in both goals (17) and assists (9). He's also currently T-1 with Bruno Fernandes for big chances created (21) during league play.

When you extrapolate further, he has played 41 times in all competitions this season scoring 24 times and providing 13 assists. His goals per 90, assists per 90 and G/A per 90 have all increased this season from last.

As impressive as all of those numbers are, when you really look close, they could be even greater were his teammates able to finish more consistently.

That is two minutes of Salah being a creative genius and shredding defenses at the highest level only to be let down by his teammates.

I'm not naive though. While I am very much a proponent of Salah staying, I also understand he is a player that has changed in recent times. He can still score with the best of them on his day, but we have seen a new dimension of unselfishness to him this term.

Perhaps the incoming Slot can channel that into something for the 2024-25 season. Whether that is a position change to a more central role, or allowing him more creative liberties across the attack.

Having a player like Salah in the side would be a major boost for any incoming coach. His mere presence allows others to play with less congestion which in turn could open up tactics to a whole new level.

In the end, if Liverpool were to have moved on from Salah this season purely because he had a bad month to the end the season or he yelled at Klopp on the touchline, it would have been irresponsible.

Michael Edwards and his team have a duty to the club and its fans to uphold the integrity of the club and maintain its ambitions.

Moving on from Salah for such minute reasons would have gone against all of that. Liverpool are a better team when they have Mohamed Salah. It's as simple as that.

We're lucky to have him and let's hope Slot can utilize him to the best of his abilities next season.