Slot plays down Liverpool transfer talks but Salah says contract solution is 'far off' | Liverpool

Arne Slot says the January transfer window will not hinder Liverpool's run of excellent form and cause a loss of control in their relationships with players, despite Mohamed Salah admitting a conclusion on his contract situation is “still a long way off”. I said I wouldn't do it.

coercive 5-0 win over West Ham Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League with eight points, and on the same day, reports emerged from Spain that talks about Trent Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid would become official. When the contract expires in the summer.

“I think I have a lot of control over what they do when they’re on the training field or in meetings with me,” Slot said. “But if you talk about their private lives, I have no control. I can control what I expect from them on the pitch and I’m really excited to see what Trent, Mo (Salah) and Virgil (Van Dijk) bring to the pitch.”

Slot also paid tribute to Salah's performance at the London Stadium, where he contributed two assists and a goal, and the way the team supported their cutting edge. Salah has now scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists in 18 games, the fastest player to reach 30 goals in a single Premier League season.

“Mowa is special, something I’ve heard a lot over the past six months. He truly deserves it. He doesn't surprise us. We know what kind of player he is and what he can do. We work really hard except when the other team has the ball. I would also like to add that when he scores, chances are created by other players on the pitch. But when you put him in that position, he’s incredible.”

Asked if he hoped to deliver good news regarding his contract soon, Salah told Sky Sports: “No, we're a long way from that yet.” I don’t want to put something in the press and people start talking, but nothing really gets done.”

Asked about Salah's contract situation, Slot said of the changing situation in January: “Not internally, but externally for sure. Probably because people are talking about it more.”

Liverpool have scored three or more goals in seven away games in all competitions this season, but Slot denied they have gone one step further in any performance other than their latest finish. “We may be a little better, but it's not a huge improvement. What we have improved on is scoring goals. There were also games where we could have scored more points but missed opportunities. “We were able to score three more goals today.”

Julen Lopetegui was realistic. His West Ham team's losing performance. “We don’t deserve any more,” he said. “We have suffered a great loss at home. We must accept that we have a lot to learn from this game. “Despite the fact that we are currently playing against probably the best team in the world, we can definitely do better.”

Defender Joe Gomez left Sunday's game in the 37th minute with a hamstring problem and his manager said he would now join Ibrahima Konate on the sidelines. That leaves only Virgil van Dijk and Jarrell Kwansa as specialist senior centre-back options, but midfielder Wataru Endo does. You have experience in the position.

Slot said: “It will be a while before he comes back. “I don’t know how long it will take, but he will be out for quite some time.”