Liverpool 2-0 Brighton: match review
Mo Salah’s Liverpool future remains somewhat uncertain and he will not play for the Reds for around the next month.
John Aldridge has suggested that Mo Salah leaving Liverpool in the January transfer window could be ‘best for everyone’.
Salah’s incendiary comments came after he started three successive matches on the bench amid a drop in form this season, having plundered 34 goals and 23 assists last term.
Liverpool’s third all-time top goalscorer did a lap of honour after the Brighton triumph as he now heads off to represent Egypt at the African Cup of Nations. And while head coach Arne Slot insisted he does not want Salah to leave, clubs in Saudi Arabia have been heavily linked with a potential swoop next month.
What’s been said
Aldridge reckons that Salah’s sale could help Liverpool sign a defensive midfielder and a centre-back. Writing in his column for the Irish Independent, the former Kop striker said: “Slot is under massive pressure himself and he couldn’t carry on pandering to a player who wasn’t delivering, even if he is a club legend. I don’t know whether age has caught up with Salah in recent months or if the fire in his belly is waning a little, but the player who has given so much to Liverpool for so long has gone missing too much in this calendar year. Now, we ask, what happens next? Salah is leaving to play in the African Cup of Nations with Egypt and from what he said to the reporters at Leeds, we don’t know if he will still be a Liverpool player when that tournament ends.
“If he backtracks a little, admits he went over the top with his comments and offers some kind of apology, there may be a way back. But that might not be what Mo or the people around him want at this stage. They know the kind of money that is on the table from the Saudis and they might have decided the time is right to cash in their chips. That may be the best solution for everyone in this messy story as Salah will get what he wants and Liverpool will probably get some decent money for a player who may be past his best now. They could use that money to sign the defensive midfielder and the centre-back they clearly need after what has been a pretty disastrous spell.”
Duo could benefit
Aldridge also feels that Salah’s departure to AFCON will benefit Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Isak was purchased for a British record fee of £125 million in the summer transfer window but has bagged just one Premier League goal so far and struggled. In addition, Wirtz - bought for £100 million - is still to net for the Reds although his importance in Slot’s side has grown in recent weeks.
“With Salah now gone for a period with Egypt and possibly not returning, I’d like to see Wirtz get a run in his position on the right side, as he may offer more than Mo has in that role over the last few months,” added Aldridge.
“I’m also confident Isak will be a good long-term addition for Liverpool when he finds his feet and it may be that the removal of a huge presence like Salah from that forward line will free up Wirtz and Isak to feel like this is their time to take over the mantle.
“Salah will be remembered as a Liverpool great, there’s no doubt about that, but no player is bigger than the club and if your form is as bad as Mo’s has been this season, decisions have to be made. Being dropped is tough to take for a player of Salah’s stature and if he can’t cope with being on the bench and helping the team in a different way, maybe the time has come for him to call time on his career at Liverpool.”
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