Liverpool FC

Liverpool look to have been given a hugely encouraging update on Mohamed Salah's future from Egypt sports minister Ashraf Sobhi.

The decisive parties are talking to each other and that’s all I need. That’s it.” “I met with Mohamed Salah at the airport after the end of the Senegal match and the failure to reach the World Cup finals and said to him to forget what happened and focus on what’s next,” Sobhi told Egyptian radio, as quoted by the Metro.

Paul Gorst speaks to Spanish football manager Julio Velazquez who has worked in Portugal for the last three years.

From my point of view, there is no doubt that he has not yet reached the peak of his capabilities and he can improve in all aspects.” If there’s one team who will know all about Diaz’s potential threat, however, it is Porto’s historic rivals Benfica and Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final opponents will be more versed in dealing with the talents of the Reds’ new man than any other team he has come up against during his fledgling days at Anfield. “I think Benfica will have analysed Liverpool's team very well, and for them the most important thing will be to try to counter the collective and try to prevent the potential of the English team from being translated on the pitch” Velazquez says in a chat with the ECHO. “Of course, there are individual players in Liverpool's team that Benfica will have to take into account, and Luis Diaz is one of them, but I would say that the Portuguese team will have to face the opponent through a collective perspective. He's still very young, he has a lot of ability, and some people who know him well tell me that he also has those qualities at a human level, which is also very important for him to evolve and have the hunger to improve more and more. He's someone who can solve a game, he very strong in one-on-one situations with a lot of ability to hurt the opponent and fantastic in the last third of the pitch. He makes the difference.” One of the key aspects behind the decision to sign Diaz was a type of playing style that is not too dissimilar to how Klopp likes to operate up front. Diaz has been central to the renewed belief, hitting the ground running at quite the pace that has many eagerly anticipating what might be possible of the 25-year-old once he has a full pre-season to fall back on Liverpool. His man-of-the-match performance in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea showed that Diaz has a flair for the big games and with Klopp’s men going for the lot between now and the end of May, the sizeable fixtures will only continue to come. READ MORE: Alex Ferguson blanked Liverpool legend for '20 years' after overhearing private joke 'A NIGHTMARE': 13 players who left Liverpool after falling out with Rafa Benitez READ MORE: Liverpool defender got his wish after £5m exit and Jurgen Klopp social media incident “Luis Diaz is a world-class player, there is no doubt about it,” says Julio Velazquez, a manager with decades of experience that includes stints with Villarreal, Udinese and Real Betis. Velazquez has spent the last few years of his career in Portuguese football with Vitoria Setubal and Maritimo and watched on from close quarters as Diaz become the third big export out of the country in recent years behind Joao Felix (£113m to Atletico Madrid) and Bruno Fernandes (£70m to Manchester United). “Luis is at an extraordinary level, he can play in any top team in European football, and he was a player that was in the top five of the Portuguese league.

Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah is composed to conclusively sign on the dotted line to cap his new contract, much to the respite of the team's manager Jurgen ...

He has also added an additional eight in the Champions League, in addition to playing 11 assists for his team-mates in all games. We could have some players who don’t play often enough and aren’t in the squad enough and they could create a bad atmosphere. Mo is not a guy for that, not at all. The decisive parties are in contact and the rest we will see. It is a clear commitment for the team for this season and then we’ll talk about the rest – future, immediate, further. This had especially raised red flags with Salah’s existing deal ready to expire in 2023.

Liverpool transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including updates on Serge Gnabry, Ousmane Dembele, Mohamed Salah, Christopher Nkunku and more.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah looks set to commit his future to the club and what the deal will actually look like Reds - with rumours that the two ...

But the manager’s quiet confidence on Monday, and his words “I am happy with it”, means that Liverpool fans, so desperate for news on this protracted affair, can also be happy with it, at this stage. Yet Klopp has been open about his belief Salah can play well into his 30s, to the age of 35 and beyond, which means there must be some wiggle room when it comes to the length of contract. The words of Egyptian sports minister Ashraf Sobhi must be taken with a large pinch of salt, because this is the kind of publicity-hungry comment he has produced so often in relation to his nation’s greatest ever sports star. Yet at the heart of it, his quote that “Salah’s direction now is to renew his contract with Liverpool” - the idea that Salah WANTS an agreement - is absolutely true. Salah for his part, has quietly hinted for some time that he wants to stay…if the offer matches his talent and importance to the club. They have, potentially, 16 games left in the pursuit of a quadruple that no club has ever achieved before.

Despite advising Mohamed Salah to depart Liverpool, Egyptian sports minister Ashraf Sobhi has revealed the No. 11 wants to “renew his contract” at Anfield.

“But his direction now is to renew his contract with Liverpool.” In fact, Sobhi has explained this week that despite his attempts to convince the Egypt captain to “continue his journey” elsewhere, his desire is to “renew his contract.” Despite advising Mohamed Salah to depart Liverpool, Egyptian sports minister Ashraf Sobhi has revealed the No. 11 wants to “renew his contract” at Anfield.

Manchester United fans have heaped praise on exciting prospect Ethan Ennis after he scored a fantastic goal for the Under-18s.

Ennis has been impressing in the Under-18s since, scoring seven goals and laying on three assists in his 16 appearances so far. There were just three minutes on the clock when Ennis gave his side the lead with a wonderful strike. A couple of smooth stepovers took him away from another marker before then unleashing an unstoppable, curling strike into the top corner.