Harvey Elliott pleads with Mohamed Salah as Liverpool star leaves team-mates baffled

Harvey Elliott has made a passionate plea for Mohamed Salah to remain at Liverpool, hailing him as ‘the best player in the world’. The Egyptian maestro’s future at Anfield was cast into uncertainty after he admitted that contract negotiations over a new deal are ‘far away’ from reaching an agreement.

The 32-year-old, who is set to become a free agent this summer and can start talks with foreign clubs from Wednesday, played a pivotal role in Liverpool’s emphatic 5-0 victory over West Ham. Salah not only scored but also provided two assists, bolstering Arne Slot’s team’s position at the summit of the Premier League.

Elliott, who joined the fray in the second half, was full of praise: “Mo’s just Mo. He finds a new level each and every season. When everyone’s trying to write him off he comes back and shows the world what he can do.

“Us players who play around him, we see every day in training how hard he works. For me he’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best at this moment in time.

“We just hope we can keep him around for a little bit longer and he keeps performing the way he is.

“I don’t have a clue how he does it. I think if we knew we’d all be the same. He’s just an amazing athlete, an amazing footballer and an amazing guy.

“It’s hard to put your finger on it. If we could we’d all look like him. He must have his secrets.”

Luis Diaz had earlier given Liverpool the lead before Salah ingeniously teed up Cody Gakpo to extend their advantage.

Salah notched his 20th goal of the campaign before Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected strike added the fourth, and Diogo Jota sealed a comprehensive victory with help from another Salah assist. The hefty loss interrupted West Ham’s four-game unbeaten streak in dramatic fashion.