- Liverpool chief Hughes has been blamed for Salah not signing a new deal
- Salah has claimed he is ‘more out than in’ with his deal expiring next summer
- Liverpool correspondent LEWIS STEELE tells all on bombshell chat with Mo Salah – LISTEN NOW to It’s All Kicking Off! New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Liverpool transfer chief Richard Hughes has been called a ‘robot’ who ‘has no empathy’ by the agent of a Reds coach.
It comes after star player Mohamed Salah revealed his disappointment at the club for the lack of progress in offering him a new contract, with the Egyptian speaking in a bombshell interview where he also said he was ‘more out than in’ at Anfield ahead of his deal expiring in the summer.
And now Rob Jansen, the representative of one of Arne Slot’s assistants Johnny Heitinga, has called out sporting director Hughes and said he is to blame for the Salah saga dragging on.
‘One thing Richard Hughes doesn’t have is any sense of empathy,’ said Jansen, who negotiated the contract for Heitinga to join Liverpool, a story revealed by Mail Sport.
‘Zero. He’s a robot. I know that because I negotiated with him for Heitinga.
‘There’s zero feelings in him. That may well be the reason. Especially with a player like Salah, who has emotion, has a different culture and is sensitive to warmth.’
Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes (right) has been branded a ‘robot’ by the agent of Arne Slot’s assistant Johnny Heitinga
Heitinga’s agent Rob Jansen (pictured) claims Hughes has ‘zero feelings in him’
Jansen’s revelation comes after Mo Salah said he is ‘more out than in’ at Liverpool with his deal set to expire at the end of the season
Jansen was talking to the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast and fellow host Rene van der Gijp, once a winger at PSV Eindhoven, added: ‘You would think if you were in that club, that you would text Salah three times a day and send him a bunch of flowers twice a day.’
Salah spoke openly about his future after scoring a brace in Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Southampton on Sunday, as he took his tally for the season to 12 goals in all competitions.
He told a small selection of reporters outside St Mary’s: ‘We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club. I’m probably more out than in.
‘You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.
‘I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands.’
Asked if he was disappointed about the lack of progress, Salah added: ‘Of course, yeah. I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.
Salah’s remarks have split opinion, with some fans claiming it could be ‘completely unforgivable’ for Liverpool’s owners to allow him to leave for free at the end of the season.
However, club icon Jamie Carragher branded Salah ‘selfish’ as he criticised the timing of the outburst.
‘I must say, I am very disappointed with Mo Salah,’ Carragher told Monday Night Football. ‘That interview last night… Liverpool have Real Madrid in midweek and Manchester City next weekend. That’s the story for Liverpool right now.
‘And Mo Salah, we’re aware – certainly the local reporters near the club – that in seven years he’s stopped in the mixed zone twice. That’s absolutely fine.
Jansen is Johnny Heitinga’s (pictured) agent, and has criticised Hughes’ lack of empathy
Virgil van Dijk (right) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) are also out of contract next summer and are yet to sign new deals
‘But he stops for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool the game and putting that out.
‘If he continues to put comments out or his agent continues to put cryptic tweets out, that is selfish. That’s thinking about themselves and not the football club.’
Salah is one of three Liverpool stars out of contract at the end of the season alongside club captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Van Dijk has hinted that he is planning to sign a new deal but is yet to put pen to paper, while Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid that would see him join up with international team-mate and close friend Jude Bellingham.