Mohamed Salah ‘will leave’ Liverpool if the club persists with Arne Slot amid reports that Xabi Alonso could replace the Dutchman at the end of the season.

Salah’s future has been in doubt ever since the Reds legend claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” after being dropped to the bench by Slot, whom the Egyptian said he had “no relationship with” at the start of December.

The winger has since been to AFCON and returned, and is now playing again under Slot, though it’s clear that things aren’t as they were between the pair, nor are Salah’s performances anywhere close to the standard he was producing on a regular basis last season when he played a huge hand in pushing Liverpool to their second Premier League title.

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Salah was handed a bumper new contract on the back of that outstanding campaign, but former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy would be surprised if he made it to the end of the 2026/2027 season when that deal expires, and instead expects him to leave at the end of the current campaign.

“I think so, yeah [he will leave this summer],” he told Bestbettingsites. “I know he’s contracted longer, but with what’s gone on, how the team’s performed and how he’s performed, I think it would surprise most people if he stayed for another year.

“The only caveat would be if a new manager came in and really wanted to build a team around him, try to get one more year out of him and have that conversation. I don’t know Mo Salah personally, but maybe he’d be given a new impetus, a new lease of life, with a different manager.

“It seems that although he’s played since he came back from AFCON, things maybe aren’t the same as before. We don’t think there’s been an apology – we haven’t heard of that – but they’ve got on with it for the good of the club.

“Inevitably, as you get older, you probably struggle, like most of us did, to come to terms with the fact that you’re not necessarily as important, that you don’t play every game and every minute, no matter what you’ve done before. Even though what he’s done before is phenomenal. I think it would be a surprise if he’s still wearing a Liverpool shirt at the beginning of next season….”

Alonso is widely expected to take charge of Liverpool should Slot be shown the door, though Spanish websiteFichajesclaim that he would look to send Salah packing if/when he arrives at Anfield.

The report claims it is ‘practically a done deal’ that Alonso will take over in the summer with Slot’s time at Anfield ‘completely over’.

Alonso, who was sacked by Real Madrid earlier this month, ‘has already begun planning for next season, conveying a clear idea to the club: a profound renewal of the squad is necessary to compete at the highest level again.’

Ibrahima Konate, who has been in poor form this season, is the first ‘discard’ that Alonso wants and Liverpool ‘won’t force a renewal that the future manager doesn’t see as necessary’.

Konate will be able to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season with rumours that Real Madrid and other clubs are interested in the France international.

The Spaniard also believes that Mohamed Salah’s ‘time at the club has come to an end and that Liverpool must move forward’ with rumours the Reds could attempt to sell him to Saudi Arabia for ￡100m in the summer.

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While Alexis Mac Allister ‘is not in the Tolosa native’s plans’ and the former Liverpool star ‘prefers a different profile to lead the midfield’ as Alonso looks to ‘build a new Liverpool, free from emotional attachments and untouchable figures’.

There have already been rumours that Liverpool could sanction Mac Allister’s potential €120m (￡105m) move to Spanish giants Real Madridin the summer.

However, The Athletic‘s James Pearce – who has covered Liverpool for years – insists that ‘the reality is that Slot retains the backing of the Anfield hierarchy’

Liverpool have ‘no intention of following the lead of United, who dispensed with Ruben Amorim, or Chelsea, who parted company with Enzo Maresca’ in mid-season.

Slot will no doubt have his performance analysed in the summer but Pearce insists the Liverpool hierarchy ‘have no plans to sack’ the Dutchman.