"Do you break the bank for him for four years?" - Noel Whelan says 29-year-old star's demands could curtail Liverpool's transfer plans

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has claimed that Mohamed Salah's wage demands could curtail Liverpool's transfer plans for the summer and beyond.

The 47-year-old has insisted that the situation with Salah is the biggest conundrum for the Reds at the moment.

As revealed by Fabrizio Romano earlier this week, contract talks between Salah and the Merseysiders have broken down with neither side looking to budge on their demands.

While speaking to Sky Sports last week, Jurgen Klopp admitted that Liverpool may need to offload some players in the summer as they look to build for the future.

The Englishman has stated that “breaking the bank” to keep the 29-year-old could mean that their transfer plans could be significantly compromised.

Whelan told Football Insider:

“You’ve got a Mo Salah contract situation. He’s coming out of contract and asking for £500,000-a-week. That would, in my opinion, cripple Liverpool to go out and make any other signings in the summer. That’s the biggest conundrum that they have right, Mo Salah."

Whelan reckons that it could be the last big contract of Salah's career who turns 30 in June.

The 47-year-old also believes that handing Salah the contract he is demanding would 'cripple' the Reds' transfer plans.

“You’re coming into the back end of your career. This is your probably the last and final good four-year contract you’re going to sign," the former Middlesbrough forward added. "Do you break the bank for him for four years? It’d cripple any possibility of maybe going out and signing other players because your wage bill is going to be going from one extent to a huge amount each month.”

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Liverpool have a big decision to make with Mohamed Salah

With Salah out of contract at Anfield in the summer of 2023, Liverpool are swiftly running out of time.

If Salah does not sign an extension, they might look to cash in on their star attacker this summer rather than losing him for nothing in 12 months' time.

However, Klopp will know that replacing such a talismanic figure will be a herculean task for the Reds.

Salah has been phenomenal for the club ever since he moved to Anfield from AS Roma in 2017 having scored 153 times in 239 games till date while providing 57 assists in the process.

The 29-year-old is leading the scoring charts in the Premier League this season with 20 goals in 27 games. He is also second in the assists charts, having created 10 goals for his teammates.