What Liverpool saw in Mo Salah’s pre-season fitness tests should make contract decision for them | OneFootball

Mo Salah’s impeccable physical condition should be hard to look past for Liverpool in contract talks.

If that isn’t enough, the Egyptian international’s remarkable 24 goal contributions in 20 games for Arne Slot’s men only further evidences the need for the club to keep hold of its star attacker.

If ever a man was proving that he’s actively turning back the clock (or at the very least halting it) in its approach to Father Time, it’s the No.11.

Given that Salah is also reportedly open (though not entirely enthused with) to accept a one-year contract extension – one has to ask what on earth the hold-up is.

Mo Salah is a fitness monster

(Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images)

Don’t take our word for it – the fitness tests conducted ahead of the 2024/25 season more than make our case for us.

“With his 33rd birthday approaching in June, Salah should be slowing down – but he’s still Liverpool’s most potent attacking force,” James Pearce wrote in The Athletic’s Transfer Radar.

“His durability is as striking as his goal-scoring prowess and it’s no fluke. He is the ultimate professional.

“When he returned to Kirkby for pre-season training in July, he topped the charts in fitness tests, outperforming players 15 years younger than him. “Phenomenal,” was the verdict of Liverpool’s first-team fitness coach, Conall Murtagh.”

The former Roma wide man may be set to turn 33 in the summer, but his actual playing age seems significantly younger.

Yes, there’s the reality to consider that even a one-year extension would take Mo into his 34th birthday in 2026. Plus, he’s no doubt racked up some serious mileage in almost 30,000 minutes with us since his 2017 move.

But can Liverpool’s decision-makers really sit comfortably on a contract call that would see Salah end his relationship with Anfield this coming summer?

More to the point, who on earth do you sign (because let’s face it, Ben Doak isn’t exactly ready to come in and fill the Egyptian’s boots) to replace him?