What Liverpool must do to keep Mohamed Salah at Anfield

Liverpool legend Roy Evans has stressed the Reds should win trophies in order to retain keep Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian international arrived at Anfield from AS Roma last summer. In his debut seasons with the Merseyside club, he has been in fine form, scoring 36 goals in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side.

Evans has issued a warning that players now would prefer to play for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He has stressed it is important for Jurgen Klopp's side to win trophies to keep their best players at Anfield.

"That's another reason why we have to win trophies - to keep the likes of Salah. We were always a club that bought the best players, we didn't sell our best players," Evans told the Liverpool Echo.

"Of course the game changes. Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG are the teams now who most players want to go and play for if they get the chance. But it looks like he's enjoying his football at Liverpool."

As recently as January, the Reds lost Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona. The Brazilian followed the likes of Luis Suarez, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano as the star players to leave Liverpool and move to Spain.

Another Liverpool legend Steve McMahon has echoed comments made by Evans on Salah. The former stressed that lack of silverware becomes an excuse for top quality players to leave the club.

"I hope his head doesn't get turned. Hopefully, he tells his agent 'don't even think about it, I'm staying here'," McMahon explained.

"But if you are not successful it's an excuse for a Salah, a Mane or a Firmino to say 'actually, I want to win trophies'. Sometimes it's not about being greedy, it's about trophies. If Liverpool aren't doing that it gives them a reason to say 'actually, I want some medals to show the grandkids'."

Salah's impressive display and goalscoring abilities have seen him draw comparisons to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. McMahon believes the former Chelsea star needs to perform consistently and help the Reds win silverware to be compared to the Argentine international.

"Messi has been rewriting the record books for 10, 12 years. Every season he's breaking his own records. It's the same with Ronaldo," McMahon said.

"Salah has had one fantastic season which hasn't finished yet. He had a great season at Roma and since coming to Liverpool we've seen more progression. Can he keep that going?

"I've heard people say 'he's up there with Messi'. No, not in a million years. He's magnificent to watch and I love him but he has to perform at that level season after season."