Liverpool ready to set out their stance in contract stand-off with Mohamed Salah

Stories circulated last month suggesting Salah and Liverpool were 'a long way apart' in the financial terms being demanded by the club and his agent and those on offer from the club.

Yet Anfield chiefs have NOT given up hope of keeping Salah at Liverpool, even though they accept he could leave this summer unless a new contract is agreed.

The Egyptian, who will turn 30 in June, has a little over a year left to run on his current Liverpool contract, which is due to expire in the summer of 2023.

Now there are suggestions from Liverpool insiders that they are preparing to make a final offer to Salah and his agent Ramy Abbas Issa, even though they are reluctant to move above the £300,000-a-week maximum salary on offer to their top stars.

Salah is believed to be demanding considerably more than that to sign a new Liverpool deal, but there is a feeling that a deal can be put in place that will include guaranteed payments and substantial bonuses based on the team's success.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Salah, but the forward has always insisted that he wants to stay at Liverpool.

Reports on Tuesday appeared to back up those sentiments, as Egypt's Sports Minister suggested Ashraf Sobhi confirmed the player had told him he was staying with Liverpool.

"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.

"I have advised him to continue his journey at a club other than Liverpool, but his direction now is to renew his contract with Liverpool.

"There are campaigns against Salah directed by some to bring him down, but I asked him not to pay attention to them."

Now Liverpool officials are keen to assess whether Salah and his agent will accept the new offer coming their way, with the deal set to be put on the table imminently.

According to Liverpool goal scoring great John Aldridge, Salah's future remains uncertain, as he could reject the new offer coming his way.

"I thought this would have been sorted a long time ago, but we are getting to the point now where it looks like he might not sign the new deal," Aldridge told sundayworld.com.

"We know the last contract offer was rejected the I can't see the club budging too much at this stage. I'm sure there will be another offer, but who knows whether it will be enough.

"If Salah wants £500,000-a-week, as the reports say, Liverpool won't pay that and he will probably go, but I think he would be mad to walk away from this team.

"He is working under the best manager in world football and is in a team that is challenging for every trophy in the game. He might not get it this good elsewhere. Why would you want to leave? Money would be the only reason."