Jurgen Klopp insisted Mohamed Salah’s reaction to being substituted in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea was “not a problem” despite renewed focus on the Egyptian’s future at Anfield.
After seeing his client replaced with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 62nd minute of the champions’ fifth consecutive Premier League loss at home, agent Ramy Abbas Issa had tweeted a simple full stop.
An expression of bemusement at best, or perhaps even a thinly-veiled threat following months of speculation suggesting Salah could move on this summer. Klopp, however, did his best to play the row down:
“The reason for the sub was – and I could have changed others as well, that is true – but he looked in that moment like he was feeling the intensity really.
“I didn’t want to risk him. That is all. That is the situation. It is really rare, I have known Mo long enough now and he usually looks surprisingly fresh until the end and I thought that was a sign.”
Salah had reacted by shaking his head as he took his place on the bench, with some believing Klopp had been unhappy with his work rate. It was the earliest he has been withdrawn in a home league game since he joined the club.
The Egyptian was not the only one of Liverpool’s front line who had been frustrated, the Reds’ best chance of a breakthrough thwarted when N’Golo Kanté was not penalised for a handball in the penalty area.
While Salah remains the Premier League top scorer with 17 goals, and he is just two off his tally for the whole of last season, his agent might do well to remember that the 28-year-old – who will be 29 in June, when the transfer window really kicks into life – no longer possesses the same pulling power he once did.
Real Madrid are leaning towards younger attacking targets in either Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland.
Barcelona, another potential suitor, are in the depths of financial crisis and if anything, they will be looking to offload big-money commanders rather than acquire new ones.
It has never been considered that Salah could stay in English football if he left Liverpool and, at any rate, there is no obvious fit for him elsewhere.
Liverpool in crisis
- Seven defeats in 11 Premier League games
- Five consecutive league defeats at Anfield
- Three league wins since Christmas
- 10 goals in their last 12 league games
- 22 points behind Manchester City
- Four points off the Champions League places
Paris Saint-Germain is one other possible destination, but that would depend on the French champions’ other activity and in particular, if they lose Mbappe.
An inevitable consequence of Liverpool’s woeful run – indeed, it is the first time in their history they have lost five consecutive home league games – is that it seems only natural to look towards the summer.
Yet Salah is far from guaranteed to attract the sort of fee which would coax Liverpool into selling. In the meantime, that does not put him in the strongest position when he shows his dissent against Klopp.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sQjjxr
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