Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he "always wants" Mohamed Salah to stay at the club after the Egyptian starred in their FA Cup win over Brighton.

The 33-year-old scored and provided an assist as Liverpool claimed a 3-0 win to move into the fifth round.

In December, Salah said he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club and that his relationship with head coach Arne Slot had broken down amid a difficult run of form.

However, since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in January, the 33-year-old has started every Liverpool game, scoring twice and making four assists.

Salah's current deal expires in 2027, and there is the possibility of him moving on this summer after nine years at Liverpool.

Al-Ittihad tried to sign Salah in 2023, and the Saudi Pro League would still be interested if Salah is available.

Van Dijk pointed to Salah still breaking records for Liverpool - his assist against Sunderland last week means he now has the joint-most Premier League assists for the club, at 92, level with Steven Gerrard.

"Mo is still a leader and important for me, as a captain, to have around and to have him on the pitch and his presence benefits the team," Van Dijk, 34, said.

"He always gives the team more than goals. There's obviously a lot of focus on his goals at the moment because he puts the standards so extremely high, so when he doesn't score as much, he gets criticised."

Before Saturday, Salah had scored just once in his previous 12 games for Liverpool.

His penalty against Brighton was his seventh Reds goal of the season. Last term, Salah scored 34 goals for Arne Slot's side as they lifted the Premier League title, and he has 252 goals in total since joining Liverpool in 2017.

Van Dijk signed a new two-year contract a week after Salah extended his own contract in April.

The Dutchman has also struggled for form this season, with Liverpool sixth in the Premier League with just 12 wins from their 26 matches.

"[Mo is] the same as me - he's got one more year [left on his contract] so we will see," Van Dijk added.

"I always want Mo to stay because I'm a good friend of his and we've been through the highs and not-so-highs - I don't want to call them lows - together for so many years.

"Mo is a very important Liverpool player who has set the bar extremely high. I can only say for us, nothing has changed.

"There are so many things people don't see what is important to try to become a successful team. Let's see for the rest of the season how important he still is and can be."