Jurgen Klopp believes his replacement is taking “the best job in the world.” Except the next Liverpool manager might soon find he is inheriting a squad shorn of its talisman.
At least Mo Salah had the sense not to dig a deeper hole as he left east London on Saturday afternoon. But as Liverpool’s title challenge was all but ended and the relationship between departing manager and sulking star player fractured beyond repair, it was easy to wonder if the time is right for Salah to also depart.
Saudi clubs are expected to renew their interest after Liverpool swatted aside a world-record £150m bid from Al Ittihad last August. No one was suggesting that would have been good business in early March as hopes of a quadruple built. But with the power of hindsight – and nothing left to play for – it suddenly looks like a rather appealing offer.
The Egyptian appears to be suffering a case of the seven-season itch. He turns 32 in June and while his powers are not yet waning he is at least plateauing. It leaves Michael Edwards, the returning executive tasked with overseeing the transition, facing another big decision to make. Does he allow Arne Slot, who is set to be confirmed as Klopp’s successor, the chance to start afresh or build his team around Salah?
Liverpool’s squad has had significant surgery in the past 12 months, notably a revamped midfield. But the defence requires strengthening and adding a consistent centre forward seems desirable. Accepting the highest bid for Salah makes filling those gaps far easier.
Salah has sporadically got the hump at Anfield, usually when being subbed off, but Saturday felt like a new level of disrespect towards the man who provided him with the platform to superstardom.
The genesis of their touchline row remains unclear – although it was obvious from Salah’s body language during the warm ups that he was miffed to be benched.
That was an unsurprising reaction from a player who has played hero on countless occasions. But the angry gesturing and shouting as he was about to come on was a new level of anger. And the subsequent ignoring of each other at full time said more than any words.
In the immediate aftermath Salah rejected the opportunity to smooth things over. Then again his response that “If I speak today there will be fire ” when asked to explain what on earth had just happened was marginally better than airing dirty laundry in detail. At the same time Klopp was shutting down every question about the incident, simply saying it had already been dealt with in the changing room.
Fire, inadvertently, was an interesting choice of words since that is exactly what Liverpool have lacked in the past few weeks. And as Klopp’s refreshed front three toiled in east London, Salah’s sense of self-importance will have been expanding on the bench.
The other wide players are never going to match Salah’s output. It is beginning to look as if Darwin Nunez is never going to produce the goods consistently. Cody Gakpo, six goals in 32 appearances, looks a step below what is required. Diogo Jota has scored plenty only to be blighted by injuries in his four seasons at the club.
Liverpool are not far off winning another league title despite the upheaval to come. Adding the couple of pieces required will be far easier if funded by a bumper fee for a player who appears to have had enough.
