Liverpool "fully expect" star forward Mohamed Salah to remain at the club through the 2024 summer transfer window, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

Ornstein added the 31-year-old "has given no indication of wanting to exit."

Salah's contract runs through the 2024-25 season, so absent an extension this would be the last opportunity for Liverpool to recoup a sizable fee for one of their greatest ever goalscorers.

Salah was a highly coveted target for Al Ittihad amid the spending frenzy by Saudi Pro League clubs last summer. The club was reportedly prepared to pay as much as £150 million, only for Liverpool to hold firm.

The circumstances will be a little different this time around to the point where, despite Ornstein's report, a transfer is much more plausible.

Salah's contract is one factor. Liverpool have been content to let a lot of players leave on free transfers, but in those cases they weren't forgoing the likely fee they'd collect by selling the decorated Egyptian now. Even if he were to go for £50 million — to pick a very conservative figure — that's a lot of money that can go toward his replacement.

The Reds are also bringing in a new manager, Arne Slot, which presents the ideal time to make a change as big as selling on a foundational star such as Salah. While Slot will be expected to hit the ground running, there won't be same kind of all-or-nothing urgency like there was ahead of what proved to be Jürgen Klopp's farewell campaign.

Then there are the recent developments: Salah's dip in form and his touchline exchange with Klopp in the club's 2-2 draw with West Ham.

Salah's goal return (17) is on pace to be his lowest in the Premier League and he has two goals and zero assists in his last eight PL appearances. He might've been upset to start from the bench against West Ham, but the move was warranted based on his performances of late.

And downplaying his interaction with Klopp became impossible when in the mixed zone he cryptically said after the match, "There is going to be fire today if I speak."

For Liverpool, there's a level of risk in running it back with Salah because his sluggish second half could point toward a more broad decline — look at how quickly Sadio Mané fell off after signing with Bayern Munich in 2022. And managing a fading star can present a challenge, especially for a first-year coach.

Chief executive of football Michael Edwards and incoming sporting director Richard Hughes appear content to maintain the status quo. We'll see if that position stays the same once the transfer window is open.