Mohamed Salah in the driving seat as pundit baffled by confirmed news - 'I can't get my head around it'
Paul Robinson has suggested Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is in the driving seat after Sadio Mane's exit from the club.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs and England number one believes the Reds now "cannot afford" not to renew Salah's contract.
On Thursday (23 June), Mane sealed a move to Bayern Munich in a deal which could rise to £35million.
The Senegal international was available for a cut-price fee as he approached the final 12 months of his contract at Anfield.
Salah's contract is set to expire at the end of June 2023.
According to the Mirror (19 June), Liverpool believe the signings of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz this year have given the club leverage in talks with the Egypt international.
When asked by Football Insider if it was in fact Salah who was in the driving seat, Robinson said: "Definitely.
"I still cannot understand the Mane deal. He was at one of the biggest clubs in the world. One of the best supported clubs in the world and was challenging for the Premier League and the Champions League. I just cannot get my head around the deal.
"It gives Salah more leverage in his contract negotiations, that's for sure. Liverpool cannot afford to lose both of them in a short space of time.
"Yes, they have Diaz, [Diogo] Jota and Nunez but that would be a complete transformation of the front three. All of a sudden, from being a team that is challenging for every trophy Liverpool could become a team in transition.
"The club cannot afford to let Salah go."