According to Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas, Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah could be the one who gets shipped out of Anfield as he believes both Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino offer more variety in Jurgen Klopp’s attack. In a recent segment with Sky Sports, when selecting his best XI for this Premier League campaign, Nicholas wrote,
“As much as Liverpool are talking about Timo Werner coming from RB Leipzig and potential other buys, it might be Salah that gets moved on. I would be careful about Mane, as I believe even Lionel Messi picked him as one of his Ballon d’Or choices. Salah has been great and Liverpool fans love him, but the two they may want to keep are Mane and Firmino. They have more options about them, not better players necessarily. Salah is that type as he gets the goals.”
Salah’s Growing Influence At Anfield In Recent Years
Even though the Egyptian wide player has failed to live up to the heights of his debut campaign at Anfield, he has still managed to put in a series of productive displays for the Reds this season. Klopp has sometimes used him as a right-winger while at other times, Salah has gotten the responsibility to lead the line down the middle. His pace and goal-threat make him one of the first names in Klopp’s teamsheet, so the Merseyside outfit cannot afford to let him leave unless they can bring in a ready-made replacement.
The 27-year-old has featured in 40 matches for the reigning club world champions this term, scoring 20 goals and providing nine assists across all competitions. The Liverpool number 11 has averaged 3.9 shots, 1.8 key passes and 2.0 dribbles per game in league football and the UEFA Champions League this season (stats via whoscored). Salah’s numbers are impressive, but a lot of his good work has often gone unnoticed as he can sometimes lack the killer instinct in front of the opposition goal.
Salah has also carried the Egyptian national team on his back in recent years. He has earned 67 senior caps for his country and has netted 41 goals in the process. We can expect the Liverpool star to play another monumental role for Hossam El Badry’s side in the next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
What Does The Egypt International Add To Klopp’s Side?
The Nagrig-born talent is one of the fittest players in Klopp’s squad and has 3423 minutes of game time under his belt this season. He can use his electrifying pace to lose his marker down the wide areas but can sometimes be guilty of playing a few loose balls in the attacking third of the field. The Egyptian is still a constant menace for the opposition with most teams opting to outnumber him to neutralise his threat going forward.
Why The Reds Cannot Afford To Sanction Salah’s Departure In The Summer
The former AS Roma speedster adds a lot of goals and assists to the Liverpool frontline, so there is no reason for Klopp to ship him out this summer. The Reds will be better of keeping him at Anfield for the time being and adding a utility player who can provide some cover for him so that he doesn’t have to feature as heavily as he has done in the past heading into the future seasons.
It seems like Nicholas doesn’t have any clear justification regarding his argument surrounding the future of Salah at Merseyside. Even if Klopp ends up acquiring Red Bull Leipzig striker Timo Werner’s services in the off-season, the German head coach will be under no pressure to sell Salah as his current contract with the Merseyside club runs until the summer of 2023. We should take Nicholas’ comments with a pinch of salt unless the Egyptian winger changes his stance and decides to push for a move out of Liverpool this summer.
