Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah has played down speculation that he will follow Jurgen Klopp in quitting Anfield this summer, despite interest in his services from overseas

Mohamed Salah insists that he has no plans to follow Jurgen Klopp out of Liverpool this summer.

The Reds talisman, 31, has been the subject of intense speculation linking him with clubs in the Middle East over the past 12 months.

Liverpool rejected a substantial £150million proposal from Al-Ittihad out of hand in the final knockings of the summer transfer window, however, interest in the Egypt international has seemingly not waned.

Salah will have just one year remaining on his current contract in the summer, where Liverpool will also be searching for a new manager. Klopp has confirmed he will stand down at the end of the season, almost nine years after he first took the reins at Anfield.

The winds of change will seemingly not affect Salah, though, with the former Chelsea and AS Roma man confirming to Jamie Carragher that he has no plans to leave Liverpool once the transfer window reopens.

“No, no – it’s life, it’s part of life now that everything moves,” Salah told Sky Sports when he was put on the spot and asked if Klopp’s departure would influence his own plans. “Players left the club already for, very important players left the club. The manager is also very important for the club and he is leaving the club. One day I will leave the club so, but no.”

Salah admits he was taken aback by Klopp’s decision to quit Anfield. The German told players in a private team meeting shortly before a formal announcement was made towards the end of January.

Recalling the moment where he and his team-mates discovered Klopp would be standing down, Salah admits he thought that an early morning meeting was going to lead to an announcement that the manager had extended his contract.

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Klopp will stand down at the end of the season (
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He added: “Usually we don’t do meetings at 10.30am, as 10.30 is the report time. It’s normally a 10.30 meet time and then 12 noon training. Then they said there was a meeting at 10.30am. I was like: ‘What?’

“The manager’s agent was there at the training ground and I thought: ‘Oh, he’s renewing his contract’. And five minutes before the meeting, Virgil [van Dijk] said: ‘Do you know what the meeting is about?’ I said no. He said: ‘The manager is leaving’. I said: ‘Really, the manager is leaving? You serious? Why?’ He said: ‘No idea’.

“Then the manager came in and he just said it and it was weird because no-one knew before. There was nothing in the media. He didn’t even prepare us for that, he just said it. That was a weird day for us and for the club.”