Klopp talks about Salah's decline in performance and negotiations to renew his contract

The German coach of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, is not concerned about the level of his Egyptian top scorer, Mohamed Salah, before facing Benfica, the Portuguese, tomorrow, Tuesday, in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Salah appeared at an amazing level with Liverpool this season and scored 28 goals in all competitions, but the Egyptian star scored only once in the last 8 matches with his club and country, and the goal came from a penalty kick during the confrontation against Brighton.

But Klopp is not concerned about the dearth of Salah's goals recently, noting that he and his Senegalese colleague Sadio Mane are certainly feeling nervous after their participation with their country's teams in the African Nations Cup, before returning to Liverpool to help him compete for the four titles in which he participates.

Klopp believes that the role of Salah, the former Chelsea and Roma star, is not limited to scoring goals, and said, "Maybe he did not score from an organized attack, perhaps he scored from a penalty kick or something like that, but this is not important."

The German coach added, "The level of play is important to me, the way he attracts the players of the competing teams in the moments when the ball is in his possession, maybe two or three players gather around him in these moments."

He pointed out, "Sometimes he can make a better decision, there is no doubt about that, such as passing the ball faster, but it is a difficult period for him and Sadio after the African Nations Cup and their immediate return to us."

Speculation was raised about the future of Salah, 29, with Liverpool, and only 15 months remain in his current contract, and after weeks of disputes over Salah’s financial demands and Liverpool’s position on renewing the contract, the latest report confirmed progress in negotiations towards renewing the Egyptian star’s contract for a period of up to to 3 additional seasons.

Commenting on these reports, Klopp said, "The concerned parties continue to negotiate, and this is what we need," without providing further details about the new contract and its terms.