Liverpool sold Sadio Mane this summer to Bayern Munich and the vast majority of Reds fans were very sad to see him go. He was such an important player for them. He made them tick. I would go as far as saying he was better than Mo Salah. But with Mane gone, should Salah lead the attack next season for Jurgen Klopp’s men? I don’t think so. In fact, I think they should also let the Egyptian ace leave.
This may sound like a surprising statement to make, but I think Liverpool play better without Salah in the team. He has been at Anfield for four years and proven how good a player he is and is loved by the fans, but I think the club should try to cash on him in now.
Golden Boot
He has been prolific for them and just missed out on winning his third Golden Boot last season after grabbing 22 Premier League goals. But some feel he is too greedy and always wants to do it all by himself rather than involve his teammates. Many times he has wasted glorious scoring opportunities by trying to beat one too many opponents and trying to score himself when a fellow player was in a far better position.
Liverpool cannot rely just on his sublime skill to find a way past opposition teams. In fact, when he is missing, they play more as a unit and attack as a team as a result. Not only is this more pleasing on the eye but it also makes Liverpool a different proposition as an attacking force. If you can keep Salah quiet then you always feel you have a chance against Liverpool. But if they started next season with a brand new front three it would give rival teams something else to think about.
Klopp has already reshuffled his attack this summer by replacing Mane with Darwin Nunez for a club record £85 million. He also has Luiz Diaz who arrived in the middle of last season and who has already become a fans favourite whilst Diego Jota has come on leaps and bounds since arriving from Wolves. With these players available, along with Roberto Firmino, does Klopp even have space to accommodate Salah in the team?
A fresh front three would give Liverpool a new dynamic next season and teams would find it hard to cope. In several cases last season, if Salah failed to shine then Liverpool struggled. They cannot just rely on him to deliver the goods and with him out of the way, the others would need to step up, which I believe they would.
Delightful football
Manchester City proved there is life without Sergio Aguero as they won the title last season and played some delightful football and perhaps Liverpool will take the bold move to allow 30-year-old Salah to leave. The longer they keep him, the lower his transfer value will drop too, so, now might be the ideal time to cash in while he is still playing at his very best. He would be worth at least £70 million right now. He has been in deadlock with the club over a new contract and is rumoured to want £400,000 a week but Liverpool are not willing to shatter their wage structure to keep him.
If he left I think Liverpool would be absolutely fine. Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and many other top class players left but life carried on as usual for the club. More important than the Egyptian is their German coach. Klopp knows how to build a team and will attract the right players that fit into his system and ensure Liverpool go from strength to strength.
Indeed, the day he decides to call it quits is when Reds fans should really be worried.
