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LONDON: Liverpool have reportedly agreed to offer their main striker Mohamed Salah a new contract.

There has been much speculation about the future of the winger, whose current contract expires at the end of June.

As reported by The Mirror , Salah is now close to signing a new two-year contract to remain at Anfield.

Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas told Liverpool he wanted a three-year contract for his client, with Fenway Sports Group initially only prepared to offer him a one-year extension.

However, an agreement has now been reached with the 32-year-old player continuing to play for the English Premier League (EPL) giants since his first appearance in 2017.

Salah currently earns around £400,000 a week at Anfield, with money not being an issue for his future.

Liverpool also want to tie down Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold by offering them new contracts, as both are also in the final year of their current contracts.

Salah remains a key player for Liverpool, as evidenced by the fact that he has scored 13 goals and made eight assists in 14 EPL matches this season.

In total, the Egyptian star has scored 226 goals in 370 matches with Liverpool.

He won the EPL title, Champions League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his time with the club.

Positive news about Salah must be exciting for boss Arne Slot, with his team now occupying the top spot in the EPL.

Last month, Salah revealed his disappointment at not being offered a new deal by Liverpool.

Speaking to a small group of reporters after Liverpool’s win at Southampton, Salah said: “We’re almost into December and I still haven’t received any offers to stay at this club. I’d probably rather think about leaving than staying.

“You know I’ve been at this club for many years. There’s no club like this. But ultimately it’s not in my hands to decide. As I said it’s December now and I haven’t received anything else about my future.

“I love the supporters. The supporters love me too. Ultimately it’s not up to me or the supporters (to decide).”

LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not carried away by the string of excellent results of his young squad after the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the English Premier League.

For Maresca, the situation does not change his previous stance that Chelsea are not mature enough to compete for the league title this season.

Chelsea dominated the game against Villa with Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer finding the target to lift them to third in the league, sharing 25 points with second-placed Arsenal and nine behind leaders Liverpool.

According to Maresca, his squad is still far behind Liverpool and Manchester City in terms of experience in important matches and the pressure of chasing the title.

“These players, some of them, in their life, their experience, may have only played one final.

“So you’ve got to go through it more often to get better and when we start getting that experience, we’ll be better to compete.

“We will get there soon, but for now we are still far away and not ready to compete with the clubs,” said Maresca.

Chelsea reached the League Cup final at Wembley last season but lost 1-0 to Liverpool.

LONDON: Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, admitted that his team needs to reach an almost perfect level if they want to catch up with the leaders of the English Premier League, Liverpool, who are now far ahead.

After an inconsistent start to the season, Arsenal returned to form with an emphatic 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.

Before that, they also ended a four-match winless drought in the league by defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0.

Victory over West Ham, early this Sunday morning is expected to propel Arsenal to second place in the league, at least before the important action between Liverpool and Manchester City at midnight on Sunday.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference today, Arteta said his team’s main focus was to maintain consistency.

“If Liverpool continue to be at this level, they will be difficult to catch. But, our focus is on our own performance. Consistency will open up opportunities for us to win more matches,” he said.

Arteta also praised the team spirit of his players after recording two important wins after the international break.

“The win gave new energy and confidence to the team. Now, it’s a matter of maintaining the momentum, especially with a tight schedule every three days,” he said.

MADRID: Barcelona said yesterday they are delaying their return to action at Camp Nou until mid-February at the latest as the iconic stadium undergoes modernization and expansion work.

The Spanish giants released a statement stating that their La Liga home games against Valencia and Alaves, scheduled for January 26 and February 2 respectively, will be held at their current stadium, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Barcelona said UEFA rules prevent clubs from changing stadiums during the early stages of the Champions League and “logistical problems and additional costs” if they use two stadiums at the same time.

Camp Nou may host the Catalan club’s next match against Rayo Vallecano on February 16.

Barcelona said last month they were aiming to return to Camp Nou at the end of 2024 with an initial capacity of 62,000.

The stadium is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2026 with a capacity of 105,000, when the project dubbed “Espai Barca” is completed and the stadium roof is installed.

Modernization work at Camp Nou began in June 2023 but it was delayed due to permit constraints and complaints about working conditions.

Therefore, Barca requested to extend the contract for the use of Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys until March 31, 2025 as a precautionary measure.

MANCHESTER: Ruud van Nistelrooy’s assistant at PSV Eindhoven, Andre Ooijer, revealed that the former interim manager of Manchester United was disappointed when he had to leave Old Trafford.

The former Dutch and Blackburn defender said that his best friend wanted to remain as an assistant coach at Man United.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of the 13th-placed Premier League club on an interim basis after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.

He recorded three wins and a draw in four games under his charge, before Ruben Amorim took over the Man United squad.

Amorim also brought his coaching line and Van Nistelrooy had to leave Old Trafford after his name was not in the plans of the former Sporting Lisbon manager.

“Ruud wants to stay as an assistant. He will say something if he is not interested in working with Amorim.

“Ruud had the opportunity to become a manager at another club, but he chose to work at the club he loves the most.

“Don’t forget, Ruud was brilliant (as a manager) at United, drew against Chelsea and won the other three games. You can see the fans love him.

“He excels in difficult situations. He has never lost as a manager.

“If Amorim fails to get good results in the first few games, the fans will definitely ask Ruud to come back,” said Ooijer.

Amorim will be tested in his first game as United manager against Ipswich on November 24.