MOHAMED SALAH LIVERPOOL CRISIS: WHY TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD’S EXIT DESTROYED THE EGYPTIAN KING’S FORM
Mohamed Salah is struggling at Liverpool. Former striker Dean Saunders explains how losing Trent Alexander-Arnold ruined Salah's game.
Everyone's wondering why Mohamed Salah is struggling at Liverpool, especially after he kind of blew up at the team. Some people think it's because Trent Alexander-Arnold left last summer. Dean Saunders said that the Egyptian King isn't having an easy time this season (2025-26), and that's why he spoke out.
Salah started on the bench after a good start.
After signing a new two-year deal in April, Salah began the season okay. He scored three goals in five games across the Premier League and Champions League, while the English champs started perfectly.
Things went downhill fast for everyone, though. Salah went six games without a goal and is currently on another dry spell of the same length. Plus, the 33-year-old hasn't been playing as much as he wants lately.
Salah is back in the team after a rant against Liverpool.
He's been a sub in the last four Premier League games. In one of those games, Liverpool drew 3-3 with Leeds. After that, Salah accused the team of throwing him under the bus and said his relationship with the coach, Arne Slot, was falling apart.
The team decided not to take Salah to the game against Inter Milan. He came back for the Brighton game and even got an assist after coming on in the 26th minute.
Now he's off to the Africa Cup of Nations, and people are wondering if he'll be transferred in January, especially with those Saudi Pro League clubs sniffing around again.
Why is Salah struggling? What's Alexander-Arnold got to do with it?
Saunders, a former Liverpool striker, was asked why Salah is having trouble after scoring 250 goals for the team. He told GOAL, "Who would have thought it could go this wrong?" He’s going to miss Trent because Trent’s disguised passing got him in. Trent would even look at him sometimes and find him. Full-backs knew where Salah was, but Trent played inside him and passed the ball outside and said, ‘If you need me, if you need to give it back to me, when you give it back, I’ve got the magic wand to find anybody in the box.’ Clubs made sure they got someone out to Trent because they knew he could hurt them, and that left Mo Salah one-on-one with the full-back. They are leaving the fullback on the ball because they can’t hurt them as Trent did. They have had five right-backs play.
I’m sticking up for him a little bit here. He’s lost [Diogo] Jota and [Darwin] Nunez and [Luis] Diaz. Diaz used to go outside the fullback and cross it. [Cody] Gakpo never goes outside the full-back. He’s lost Andy Robertson. He’s got a bit of an argument on why he’s not playing well, which is fair enough. But I would say to him, ‘When’s the last time you beat the fullback? When was the last time you cut inside and hit one in the top corner? When was the last goal you scored? When’s the last time you looked like Mo Salah, the one we know? So look in the mirror and sort your own game out.’
I understand what he’s saying, but to then come out with what he did after it was obvious that Slot had gone for a clean sheet at West Ham. He’s obviously gone with ‘We need a clean sheet; I’m going to sacrifice attacking,’ and he played [Dominik] Szoboszlai in Mo’s position. And the game at Inter—that was the best back four he could put out—Joe Gomez, [Virgil] van Dijk, [Ibrahima] Konate, and Andy Robertson. He must understand what the manager is trying to do by leaving him out, but in his head, he thinks, ‘I’m the best player in the world; how can you do this to me?’ He shouldn’t have said what he said, and he needs to apologise. If he apologises, things can be swept under the carpet.”
What's next for Salah?
Slot said he'd talk to Salah before the Brighton game. They seem to have worked things out since Salah came off the bench when Gomez got hurt during the game against Brighton, but we'll have to wait and see what happens next.
ALISSON "OPEN" TO LIVERPOOL EXIT AS JUVENTUS PREPARE MASSIVE SWAP DEAL OFFER
With Alisson Becker open to a Juventus move, Liverpool is scouring the market for a replacement ahead of a major summer rebuild.
Liverpool isn’t just sitting around; it’s actively searching for someone to take Alisson Becker’s spot since Juventus looks serious about making a bid for their veteran keeper. Even though Alisson’s got a year left on his deal after the club triggered an extension back in March, he might leave this summer.
He’s been Liverpool’s go-to guy in goal since he arrived from Roma in 2018; he’s played 332 games, cost £67 million, and for years, he was untouchable. But injuries have piled up during the 2025/26 season, and it’s starting to look like his time at Anfield could be coming to an end.
Juventus are now right in the mix. Apparently, Alisson isn’t against the idea of leaving Liverpool, and Juventus could even throw their own goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, into the deal for the Brazilian.
Juve are ready to offer Alisson a contract running through the summer of 2028, with an extra year as an option. Sky Sports says Liverpool already knows what’s happening and is getting their ducks in a row before a massive transfer window.
The club’s facing a big summer. Salah and Robertson are going, and now they might need a new keeper too. Giorgi Mamardashvili has stepped up when Alisson was out, playing 18 games across all competitions, but he’s injured himself, leaving Slot with just Freddie Woodman as his only fit option.
Recently, Slot was asked if losing Alisson at the same time as Robertson and Salah would be too much. He said, “The club makes decisions it thinks are right. If this happens, there's a reason behind it, maybe another good reason why we did what we did.”
He pointed out that Liverpool doesn’t make transfers on a whim. Decisions are thought through, with the club’s interests always at heart.
Regarding keeping Alisson for his experience, Slot admitted that’s one argument, but there are others and, ultimately, the club will decide what’s best. Alisson’s contract still has a year left.
When pressed about Juventus, Slot replied, “Ali’s main focus is clear; he wants to get back in goal for Liverpool as soon as possible and then play for Brazil. That’s his short- and mid-term future.”
LIVERPOOL WARNED TO OFFER CURTIS JONES NEW CONTRACT BEFORE 14-MONTH DEADLINE
Analysis: Curtis Jones’ elite passing stats and why Jermaine Pennant believes Liverpool cannot afford to lose the versatile midfielder.
Liverpool really needs to sort out a new contract for Curtis Jones before they make the same mistake it did with Luis Diaz. That’s what the Inside Liverpool panel thinks, especially now that Diaz is lighting up Bayern Munich and making Liverpool’s transfer moves look pretty questionable.
Bayern’s front three, with Diaz in the mix, have racked up 100 goals across all competitions this season – the first time any non-Spanish team has done that. Diaz himself has bagged 26 goals in 46 matches and just scored against PSG in the Champions League semi-final.
Looking back, Liverpool probably wish they hadn’t let Diaz walk for £65 million last summer. Since then, fans at Anfield haven’t seen anyone who brings what he did: that relentless pressing, always looming as a threat on the counter. Sure, they’ve brought in Rio Ngumoha, a teenager, just 17, but Arne Slot, the coach, knows you can’t just expect him to fill those shoes right away.
On talkSPORT’s Inside Liverpool, Jermaine Pennant, who has played for the club, said that Liverpool has to bring in another proven attacker over the summer. Pennant’s point: Diaz was great whether he played in the middle or on the left, and Liverpool needs someone with that kind of flexibility. You don’t want to sign a backup like Hugo Ekitike and then end up overcrowding with too many strikers when the main guy returns.
Now, Jones could end up in the same boat this summer. There’s a lot of uncertainty around his future, and when you look at the numbers, he’s only got 14 months left on his contract. Several clubs in England and Europe are watching, and he’s only started 15 games for Liverpool this season.
Even though he hasn’t played much, Jones is impressing; he’s second only to Rodri in midfielder passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League. He’s also ranked second behind Moises Caicedo for passing accuracy, and right behind Rayan Cherki for carries. Pennant said the club can’t afford to let him go: Jones is so versatile; you can play him anywhere in midfield or even right back. He knows the club, loves it, and helps connect the squad.
Jones has been one of the top performers recently. Pennant thinks Liverpool should offer him a new deal, especially since the squad is thinning out and they’ve already lost Trent Alexander-Arnold. In the end, it’s up to Jones if he wants to stay or move for more game time, but Liverpool has to make the offer while they still can.
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