Jurgen Klopp Brushes Aside Mohamed Salah Transfer Speculation

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quick to quash any talk surrounding a potential departure for his winger Mohamed Salah after a flurry of spurious rumours emerged in recent weeks.

Salah joined Liverpool from Roma in the summer of 2017 for £37.8m, rapidly establishing himself as one of Europe's most prolific wide forwards. As Salah finished each of his first three seasons as the club's top scorer, Liverpool earned a sixth European Cup before ending their 30-year wait for the Premier League title last season.

Whispers that Salah may want a move away were amplified after the Egypt international refused to rule out a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid in an interview with a Spanish publication. The same day that was published, Klopp left Salah out of the starting lineup for Liverpool's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace, though he later explained this was a consequence of the hectic schedule.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's Boxing Day game against a struggling West Bromwich Albion team, Klopp was keen to avoid the topic of Salah's transfer dealings, or lack thereof, saying: "We never speak about contracts, with the press anyway, so why should we start now?" as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

Klopp continued: "Mo is in a good mood and moment, and in really good shape and that is the most important thing for me. If you would have been in training today, you would have seen him laughing a lot. He enjoyed the session so that's good as well.

"The rest is nice for you to write but internally, nothing really [to say]."

Salah came on in the second half against Crystal Palace and had a hand in Liverpool's final three goals, assisting Roberto Firmino before bagging a brace for himself.

However, former Egypt international - and personal friend of Salah - Mohamed Aboutrika added fuel to the fire of speculation linking the 28-year-old with move away by claiming he 'is not happy at Liverpool'. These suggestions come three months after Salah's agent hinted his client 'would like' a move to Barcelona.