Mohamed Salah was expensive to keep but Liverpool couldn’t afford to lose him

So now Mohamed Salah, to adapt his own phrase, is very much more in than out. All it took, it seemed, was for the Egyptian’s goals to dry up for the first time in a remarkable season for Liverpool to present Salah with a contract he would sign. Maybe Salah’s occasional willingness to go public in frustration has been justified.

Or perhaps Liverpool’s quiet approach has. Saying nothing in public did not equate to doing nothing in private. With Salah signed up and Virgil van Dijk making progress in his own contract talks, director of football Richard Hughes may conclude that two out of three isn’t bad.

Much of Hughes’ inheritance was enviable. Three expiring contracts provided the hospital pass. The apocalyptic scenario was that Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold would all go, leaving Liverpool with a huge bill to rebuild their side and, almost certainly, a weaker team next season. Even Salah’s recent dip in form has outlined his importance: when he stopped scoring,