Mohamed Salah has experienced a rollercoaster few months and the rest of the season offers plenty of intrigue at Liverpool

What a difference two months can make. Back in December, when Mohamed Salah waved to the Kop after helping Liverpool beat Brighton in the Premier League there was a genuine fear he may never be back with the fallout of his controversial comments the previous weekend still reverberating.

But when Salah was again gesticulating to the packed Anfield stand during Brighton's FA Cup visit last weekend, it was in celebration after scoring a goal as the Reds sauntered into the fifth round.

With two goals and four assists in seven appearances since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptian is back in the groove. What, though, can be expected for the rest of the season? And is a summer departure a formality? Our ECHO writers take a look...

Paul Gorst

On December 6, when Mohamed Salah appeared to press the nuclear button on his Anfield career, the calm manner at which he claimed he had been "thrown under the bus" hinted at a premeditated outburst by the Egyptian King.

Over two months later, with things looking a bit more rosy in Liverpool's garden, the question can now be asked as to how much of Salah's outspoken post-match chat in the bowels of Elland Road was simply an emotional reaction to being left on the bench for three successive games?

No-one quite knew, as Salah left the Anfield pitch a week later following a win over Brighton, if that would be his final appearance as a Liverpool player. Thankfully, cooler heads appear to have prevailed and a month-long absence at the Africa Cup of Nations made the heart grow fonder for all involved it seems.

As a result, Salah has looked much improved of late and it is no coincidence that a side who struggled for creativity and goals in his absence have seen a big upturn in both since his comeback. In the seven games missed while he was in Morocco, the Reds scored just 11 goals, four of them against League One side Barnsley.

Compare that to the 20 scored in the same amount of games since the 33-year-old returned to the fold and the idea that he has been a force for good once more in the final third is undeniable.

Interest from Saudi Arabia is likely to persist this summer given he once more enters the final 12 months of his terms on Merseyside. It was the summer of 2023 when officials from the Saudi Pro League offered Liverpool £150m that was flatly turned down and given the league might be in search of a new figurehead on the pitch, they may be contacted once more.

But Salah managed to eek out arguably his best-ever campaign for the club across 2024/25 when he was also inside the last year of his contract. Having adopted a whatever-will-be-will-be mentality for Slot's debut campaign, it afforded him the freedom to turn in a 34-goal campaign that culminated in a second Premier League of his time at Anfield.

Would you really bet against Salah doing something similar once more next season? His peak years might be behind him but he still has a great deal to offer.

Ian Doyle

Had you asked anybody two months ago whether Mohamed Salah had played his last game for Liverpool, most would have responded in the affirmative.

And even among those who thought the Egyptian King would see out the remainder of the season, many were pretty much convinced Salah was heading for pastures new this coming summer. Saudi Arabia surely awaited.

Now, though, matters aren't quite so clear. And that's entirely down to the 33-year-old buckling down and reminding Liverpool - and perhaps himself - that he still very much has a part to play for the Reds.

A shift in expectations from the start of the season and the much-deliberated issues Liverpool have suffered on and off the field during the past nine months undoubtedly sapped Salah's energy and enthusiasm, leading up to his infamous and wholly misguided post-Leeds outburst. He shouldn't have done it.

But the winger now clearly has the hunger back in his game, the bit between his teeth. He is again embracing his defensive duties - Sunderland away a good example of this - and his sheer presence on the field is opening up previously closed avenues for his attacking team-mates.

Salah also appears to have adjusted to the fact he isn't the player he once was. Nobody is at his age. But that doesn't make him a busted flush. And with the Champions League, the FA Cup and a top-four place all to play for, there's plenty for Salah to chase over the remaining weeks of the campaign. His present form rather than past glories indicates he deserves his place in the team.

Look, the smart money is perhaps still on the Saudi Pro League making an offer Liverpool and Salah will find too good to resist this time around, particularly with only 12 months remaining on his contract.

But if Salah remains at the club next season, there will be few grumbles if he maintains his current level of impact. His Anfield rehabilitation continues.