Glenn Hoddle says Mohamed Salah signing a new contract would give Liverpool irresistible momentum in their bid for Champions League glory and the quadruple.
The Kop's Egyptian king will be 30 this summer, and Mirror Football understands Salah is close to agreeing terms worth upwards of £400,000-a-week on a new deal at Anfield. Former England manager Hoddle, picking out England's three remaining clubs in the Champions League as the likeliest winners of the trophy, believes keeping Salah would provide Liverpool with high-octane rocket fuel for the run-in.
Asked to pick his European Cup winner from the usual cast of suspects, BT Sport pundit Hoddle admitted: “It's a really close call - I can see any of the three English teams winning it. They are the three strongest sides in the final eight. Manchester City fascinate me because, so far, they have had a mental block in the Champions League. They had a great opportunity last year, but Pep probably picked the wrong team in the final.
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“For me, they are the best footballing team in our league and in Europe, but Liverpool are a close second and Chelsea know how to get across the line. That's how strong we are as a nation. To call it is very difficult because there is so little between them.
“If Mo Salah is going to sign a new contract, that would give Liverpool a huge lift. Who wouldn't be lifted by that? He's one of the best players in the world. I think Liverpool have now got the strongest squad they've ever had. They were an incredible side back in the 1980s, but that squad didn't have the depth Jurgen Klopp has built up now, and there's not a weakness in any position.”
Since a five-year hiatus when no English club reached the Champions League final between 2013-17, Liverpool have reached two (in 2018 and 2019) and there have been two all-English affairs (2019 and 2021). Statistically, Liverpool are the fourth-most successful club in the competition's history, winning it six times and reaching three other finals. Only Real Madrid (13 wins), AC Milan (seven) and Bayern Munich (six wins, five other finals) have a better record.
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