Is it time Liverpool let Mo Salah go? It sounds unthinkable, but Kop legend is nearly 32 with only a year left on his deal

It's the curious case of Mohamed Salah: Super striker, talisman, legend but Liverpool’s Egyptian King, on the bench on Sunday, is not getting any younger. Cash in or kick on?  Walking along the banks of the River Thames through Bishop’s Park on the way to Fulham on Sunday, one fan was overheard asking, ‘Do you reckon they think it’s time to cash in on Mo?’

The conversation was sparked after Salah, 31, was rested - or dropped if you want to take the glass-half-empty view - from Liverpool’s XI at Craven Cottage. While it might sound a ludicrous debate, it is a talking point that has stalked pub chats over the course of the season.

Soon, the Salah conundrum will have to be an issue addressed by the top brass at Anfield and in Boston, including new sporting director Richard Hughes and returning CEO of Football, Michael Edwards. With just a year left on his deal, the forward’s future needs solving.

To most fans, it is probably an easy solution. Why on earth would you sell your talisman? Why would you move on the man who, despite injuries this season, is still the top scorer and leading provider of assist? Why would you let go of your most marketable asset?

There is also the argument that, like in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button referenced earlier, Salah respects his body in a way that could see him follow Cristiano Ronaldo and Co in playing at the top level until his late 30s, which would give him another five or so years.

But speaking of Ronaldo, it brings us on to the elephant in the room: Saudi Arabia and £150million. In the mad world of transfer trolley-dashes and Chelsea chucking £100m around like it is loose change, it feels necessary to emphasise just how much money £150m is.

That point is further strengthened by the fact Salah will be 32 at the start of next season. Mail Sport reported in early August how the Saudis were preparing an eye-watering offer for Salah last summer. It was met with laughs and vitriol, though the reaction might be different a year on.

That offer took a while to prepare and did not come through until the last days of the transfer window. Liverpool sources had been flat out all summer in their response: Salah is not for sale. And so with no time to find a replacement, that was also the response Al Ittihad received.

But what would the Reds do if a £150m offer landed in their inbox in, say, June? For that money, they could get two or three top-quality players and start a rebuild in every sense of the word at Anfield, with a whole new coaching team also coming in when Jurgen Klopp leaves.

It would be ludicrous to say the goals have dried up for Salah even though it might feel like that in recent weeks. He is the only player in Liverpool’s history to score more than 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons and has 24 strikes and 13 more assists this term.

Despite missing a large chunk of the season when away at the Africa Cup of Nations and then an injury suffered there, the Egyptian has produced a stellar return that is the envy of Europe and he is still just three goals behind Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.

In 2024, though, performances have been short of the sky-high standards he has set for himself. Obviously his injury, which saw him pull out of an international camp and have to manage his minutes for, has had a huge influence on that.

The trademark Salah goal - cutting in from the right and side-footing into the far corner with his left foot - has been seen few and far between this season, with the attempt often being skewed wide or over the crossbar.

Ryan Gravenberch’s sumptuous finish at Fulham was Liverpool’s first open-play goal after four and a half games without one. The lack of clinicality is definitely not a problem confined to Salah, with Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo also guilty of not taking big chances.

Fans have argued that Diogo Jota is the most naturally-gifted finisher at the club and there were few doubts the Portuguese striker would score when set through on goal for Liverpool’s third on Sunday, but the 27-year-old will now miss the next fortnight with a minor injury.

It is a huge blow for Klopp who now has little choice but to recall Salah for the Merseyside Derby, his final flutter in a fixture that - at Goodison Park at least - has often been frustrating during the German’s tenure in England.

With upheaval at Anfield on a growing scale this summer - Klopp will be followed out of the door by mass departures of his trusted lieutenants - the Salah conundrum is a big issue that needs solving, along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk’s deals which also end in 2025.

A seismic fee from the Saudis would be hard to turn down, especially when noting the quality of players that could be signed with the proceeds. But all that is counter-acted fairly easily when noting Salah is still Liverpool’s go-to man for goals. It is a decision to shape the next era.