Mohamed Salah Liverpool 2024-25
© IMAGO - Mohamed Salah Liverpool 2024-25
Liverpool have been scoring goals for fun under Arne Slot, notching 49 goals already this season from 21 games.
And while the goals have been largely shared throughout the forwards, with the rest of the team chipping in occasionally, Mohamed Salah has been front and centre again.
READ MORE:Liverpool transfer talks CONFIRMED for big-game Brazilian
On track for the best season of his career, the Egyptian winger has 15 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, and we're only in December.
Behind him on the team's goalscoring charts, you'll find Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, who have been dovetailing their form on the left wing, battling it out for an extended stay in the team, despite Arne Slot continuing to use them on a rotating basis.
Then you'll see the currently injured Diogo Jota, who is usually Liverpool's first-choice striker before you eventually see Darwin Nunez at the bottom of the pile.
While the quoted sample size looks just at the Premier League in claiming Salah carries us, here's the real picture...
Salah - 15 ⚽️s (12 🅰️s)
Diaz - 9 ⚽️s (2 🅰️s)
Gakpo - 8 ⚽️s (2 🅰️s)
Jota - 4 ⚽️s (2 🅰️s)
Nunez - 3 ⚽️s (2 🅰️s)
39 goals in all comps spread across the forwards. https://t.co/b6xBBqxgbd
— Will Comish (@WillComish) December 5, 2024
The club's £85m Uruguayan gamble has been in poor goalscoring form this season, with Arne Slot opting for a more behind-the-scenes role for him, which has meant he has been involved less directly involved in the attacking side of things.
When he was called upon in Liverpool's last match, the 3-3 draw away at Newcastle, he missed two big chances, which could've put the game to bed, before Coaimhin Kelleher's 90th-minute mistake.
As such, Liverpool fans have begun to lose their rag with the 25-year-old creator of chaos.
Liverpool searching for possible replacements
Alongside fans losing their patience with him, the club has also been looking at different forwards they could bring in, with Nunez looking like the weak link that would be replaced.
Rumours have circulated regarding a number of different forwards, including Lille's Jonathan David, Brighton's Joao Pedro, PSV's Ricardo Pepi, Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres and Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The possibilities are endless, as Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes has been hard at work after a below-par summer transfer window.
In addition, Nunez has been linked with a move out to Barcelona and a chance to revamp his career after what can largely be said to have been a disappointing time at Liverpool to date.
Through only managing to show glimpses of what he's capable of, he will eventually cost Liverpool, as many consider him to have done against Newcastle last week. A striker who can operate at a consistent level, like Mo Salah on Liverpool's right-wing, will help make Arne Slot's Premier League title dreams that much more realistic.
However, despite all of the criticism that Nunez has faced, he still holds favour with certain members of the Liverpool team.
Salah loves playing alongside Nunez
Despite his frenetic performances on the pitch, it cannot be denied that Nunez doesn't give his all for the team, and his limited returns are not through a lack of trying.
So while Liverpool fans and club executives may be increasingly frustrated by him, the players still enjoy working him.
As a team competing on all fronts, you constantly need energy on the ball, which is easier said than done given the unrelenting fixture schedule that players face. Nunez has energy in spades.
In addition, while Nunez's goalscoring troubles have been clear, his assist numbers are remarkably high for a striker.
Across 114 games, many of which were appearances off the bench, Nunez has 36 goals and 19 assists.
While not known for his creative abilities, he and Salah have become quite the dynamic duo, assisting one another 15 times - becoming one of Liverpool's most polished attacking partnerships.
Traditionally when you think of Liverpool duos, the names Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez might spring to mind, yet they've been statistically surpassed by Salah and Nunez.
Speaking to Youtuber Bahaa Elattar, Salah spoke of who he enjoys playing with the most.
🎙️مين اكثر لاعب بتحب اللعب بجانبه؟
🗣️ الاسطورة محمد صلاح:
"في الماضي كان فيرمينو، حاليًا نونيز"
لن ننقل باقي الكلام مراعاة لشعور نونيز😂 pic.twitter.com/6siMiunc55
— عالم صلاح (@SalahWorld11) December 7, 2024
He said: “It was Firmino but now I feel it’s Nunez. Many people don’t like him but I love playing with him.
"He’s a player with different skills, not everyone will understand his football.”
So while Nunez is undoubtedly in poor goalscoring form, playing in a role where I believe his attacking returns are less emphasised, his favorability with his teammates is unrelenting - and it looks like Salah has already found the Firmino replacement that Reds fans have been crying out for.
As Liverpool fans we have adored seeing Salah's brilliance over the last eight seasons, his opinion on a teammate holds a certain amount of weight.
We'll have to see how the club decide to deal with the ongoing speculation about Nunez's future, but Liverpool's Premier League all-time great is convinced that his critics just don't quite understand him, and maybe that's something that will develop as time goes on.
READ MORE: Liverpool celebrate MAJOR Milos Kerkez boost