ARNE SLOT MOVES PAST MO SALAH DRAMA AS LIVERPOOL PREPARE FOR AFCON ABSENCE AGAINST TOTTENHAM
Arne Slot discusses Liverpool's life without Mohamed Salah during AFCON, squad rotation challenges, and key injury updates for Spurs.
Arne Slot mentioned that Liverpool is past the Mohamed Salah situation. Salah was not happy about being benched, but the team's getting into the shape Slot wants.
The Reds are looking at a possible month without Salah, who's playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). They're playing Tottenham away this Saturday.
After losing nine out of 12 games, Slot has gotten things stable. They haven't lost in their last five games, and Salah didn't start in any of them.
Actions are what matter. "We're over it," Slot told reporters Friday. He was talking about when he brought Salah on as a sub in their 2-0 win against Brighton last week.
He's at AFCON playing big games for himself and his country. He's focusing on that, and I don't want to distract him by saying anything. We moved on after the Leeds interview, and he played against Brighton.
Even though Slot's having a tough second season in England, Liverpool's seventh in the Premier League. They could be in the top four if they win against Tottenham, who are having a hard time.
The team changed a lot over the summer, spending almost £450 million ($602 million) on players like Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez.
Besides Ekitike, who's been good, the other new players haven't done so well. Slot said he was too hopeful about how long it would take for the new team to play well together.
I think we're getting closer to being the team I want, but it's been up and down, Slot said.
It makes sense since we made so many changes over the summer. We did it because we thought we needed to.
To be honest, I didn't think it would take this long. Now that I look back, I think I was too positive. When you have a new group, and not everyone's ready to play hard for 90 minutes every game, you have to adjust.
Sometimes a guy can play, sometimes he can't. So it takes time. And we've had some bad luck.
Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo won't be playing against Tottenham because they're hurt. But Slot hopes Dominik Szoboszlai will be ready to start. Frimpong is back after being out for two months.
MOHAMED SALAH SET TO LEAVE LIVERPOOL: FENERBAHCE PREPARE STUNNING THREE-YEAR CONTRACT OFFER
After a decade at Anfield, Mohamed Salah's next move is the talk of football. Will he join Messi or stay in European leagues?
Mohamed Salah looks set to leave Liverpool this summer, and it sounds like he wants to stay in Europe. One of the hottest rumours right now is about Fenerbahçe; they’re ready to offer him a three-year deal worth around £52 million. That’s a huge pay packet, but probably not as big as what he’d get in Saudi Arabia.
Salah’s been on Merseyside for almost a decade, and it’s hard to overstate just how much he’s done for Liverpool. Since joining in 2017 with Jurgen Klopp in charge, he’s picked up two Premier League titles, a Champions League medal, an FA Cup, and two League Cups. Pretty impressive, honestly. But this season hasn’t gone his way, and new boss Arne Slot dropped him for a few games after his form dipped. When Salah announced in March that he’d be leaving, people started up with transfer rumours right away.
In recent years, clubs from the Saudi Pro League have shown considerable interest. Last year, Al Ittihad went as far as slapping a £150 million offer on the table, but Liverpool turned it down.
Now the story goes that Salah wants to stay in Europe even though he’d pocket way more in Saudi Arabia. Reports out of Egypt claim Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho’s old club, have already sat down with Salah’s agent. They apparently laid out their big plans, offering £17.3 million a year with a three-year contract, and they want to build the team around him to end their league title drought stretching back to 2014.
There’s also talk of Real Madrid getting involved. Still, their transfer policy usually steers clear of handing massive contracts to players pushing the end of their careers, even superstars like Salah. Clubs in Italy, like Roma, Juventus, and Inter Milan, are keeping tabs on him too. And just to make things more interesting, someone floated the idea of Salah joining up with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the MLS, though the league's salary cap throws a wrench into that.
At this point, everybody’s watching Salah’s next move; the only certainty is that he won’t be short of offers when he finally says goodbye to Liverpool.
WHY IS LIVERPOOL HESITATING TO HIRE XABI ALONSO DESPITE OVERWHELMING FAN SUPPORT?
Liverpool has contacted Real Madrid to investigate Xabi Alonso’s tenure, as pressure grows on current manager Arne Slot at Anfield.
Liverpool have reached out to Real Madrid to ask about Xabi Alonso, but honestly, there’s some debate going on behind the scenes. People have been talking about Alonso stepping in at Anfield, especially since Arne Slot’s season hasn’t gone over well. Fans let out some boos after that 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and the mood is pretty tense. Even though Slot led Liverpool to a league title last year, quite a few supporters seem fed up with him and would rather see Alonso take charge.
But Spanish outlet AS says Liverpool have contacted Real Madrid to get the inside scoop on what happened during Alonso’s time at the club. It sounds like the decision-makers at Liverpool are starting to feel unsure about him, and they might actually stick with Slot for another season.
Alonso landed the Real Madrid job last summer after doing wonders at Bayer Leverkusen. Still, just six months in, Madrid let him go, reportedly because the locker room was falling apart. Liverpool’s relationship with Real Madrid is strong, and they apparently want some honest feedback – kind of like asking for a reference from a past employer, which isn’t unusual.
Liverpool’s spot in next year’s Champions League is almost locked in, but with two games left, it’s not guaranteed yet. When asked about the boos, Slot admitted he has some work to do to win fans over.
He said, “Not this season. Fans won’t change their minds now. But if we get the summer we’re planning, I’m convinced we’ll be a different team next season. Results, style, everything. It’s not always easy, though. Sometimes you know what needs fixing, but getting what you want isn’t so simple. This season, it’s been pretty clear what we’re missing. We’re trying to solve it, but one issue is simply having enough fit players. Still, our guys show every week in the second half that they’re giving everything they’ve got.”
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