Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has urged Mohamed Salah to stay at Anfield for the rest of his career following strong summer interest from Al Ittihad that is expected to return.
Salah has never scored fewer than 19 goals in a Premier League season since he joined Liverpool in 2017, while he has netted 30 or more in all competition in four of his six full campaigns to date. With two assists in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Wolves, the Egyptian also reached 200 combined goals and assists in the Premier League, with only Thierry Henry reaching that milestone in fewer games.
Salah is a marquee target for the Saudi Pro League and PIF-controlled Al Ittihad had a £150m bid rejected by Liverpool, who were determined not to sell. Al Ittihad were willing to break the transfer world record, currently £200m, for the 31-year-old. That had some figures inside Anfield open to the possibility of cashing in, while 90min revealed that Salah himself was keen to go.
But Jurgen Klopp was among those who wanted Salah to stay and Liverpool ultimately hadn't budged on their initial stance that he wasn't for sale by the time the transfer window closed in Saudi Arabia.
It does, however, raise the possibility that the saga isn't over and Al Ittihad will be back.
Elliott is determined for Salah to continue at Liverpool, citing his impact and consistency.
"Touch wood, he doesn't ever leave," Elliott said, via the Liverpool Echo. "But, if he does go, then I want to be that person to learn from him and apply it in my game. Hopefully, he's here for the rest of his career. I will do my best [to keep him] but to be just learning from him and in the same team as him, is just a dream come true as well as everyone else in the team.
"We see it all, week in, week out. Mo is an absolutely unbelievable player as well as an unbelievable guy and he's got that finishing ability and that creative ability as well. You can always count on him.
"Mo's creativity is absolutely out of this world and I don't think people appreciate it as much as they should. I think from the public eye it might be a surprise because he is known for his goals, so like I said his creativity is up there with some of the best in the world. He's so hard to play against.
"He has eyes all over the place and I do try and ask him…I am close to him in that sense, so I do try and work as close to him as possible, to learn. Learning from the best, it's exactly that."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mohamed Salah urged to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.