18 Dec 2025 09:08:13
I still think Salah will leave in January. I know the ITK's disagree, but my gut says he will go and we'll sign Semenyo to replace him. Al Qadsiyah, Galatasaray, San Diego etc all sound like they could be viable options for him. The information the club leaks to people has to be that Salah will stay, as that protects his value. If it were to leak that we wanted him gone, his price tag would plummet.
I just cannot see Salah accepting a role on the bench for the rest of the season, and I cannot see Slot putting him back into the team after our results have started to improve and Ekitike is flourishing as the main man. In my head at least, our best team is now Wirtz, Ekitike and Dom across the front line with Jones, Macca and Grav in midfield. If any forward is to break into that best XI, I'd imagine it will be Isak or a new player (such as Semenyo), with Dom and/ or Wirtz dropping back into midfield.
Gakpo and Salah do not seem to fit playing with a natural striker and with both being so poor defensively I think we'll look to a right winger like Semenyo who will work his socks off defensively and get the ball forward with a more direct running style, so that our strikers aren't easily crowded out. Salah and Gakpo dither on the ball too much (looking to cut inside and shoot from the edge of the box) and that means Isak and/ or Ekitike end up surrounded by players.
Time may be on Gakpo's side given he's only 26, so he has time to adapt and learn to play with a centre forward. However, for Salah I just cannot see a way back into the team for him short term or long term. Why prolong the inevitable? I think we'll let him go out on a high after breaking Rooney's record.
18 Dec 2025 10:46:03
Semenyo if he comes will not be a replacement for Salah that role is for olise (fingers crossed) Semenyo will play down the left along with Kerkez as they did with Bournemouth.
18 Dec 2025 10:46:33
If we are playing 2 up top I'd go Ekitike and Salah.
Gakpo and Salah have been poor this season but Isak has been taking the biscuit completely. He has been so god awful. We all know he can do it and will do it but he needs to be on the bench for now. Work up his fitness and work to get in the team. If he was only slightly off it, I would play him to get there but he is miles off it.
The two who cannot be benched are Ekitike and Wirtz. They must play.
The third one is the only debate and if I had to play one, it would be Salah. Without signing Gakpo until Salah is back from Africa Nations.
Isak would not even be in my thoughts right now.
I still fully back him to come good for us but right now terrible is an understatementfor how he is playing right now.
You could of course bench all of them and just play Wirtz and Ekitike up top with a four man midfield. Dom going right back made room for Salah last game so maybe it's just a RB come in.
18 Dec 2025 10:58:45
Super interesting whatever happens anyways aye?
My read on it is that the noise from the club - that we want Mo to see out his contract - is to maintain any leverage we think we have in making a sale.
I'm with you MKS, in that it just seems really unlikely that Mo will take the humble road and become the player we need him to be at this stage of his career. He really needs to be helping pass the torch, not trying to keep his alight at any cost.
Anyways, I've always maintained that it really depends on Mo and his attitude to all of this.
18 Dec 2025 11:17:44
I think it makes more sense that he goes in the summer, which to be honest I half expected before the season. Will be sad to see him go though, end of an era but probably right time.
18 Dec 2025 11:19:39
Let's be honest, if Salah leaves in January, it won't be because he is unwilling to sit on the bench. It is because Hughes and Edwards want that Saudi bag. Mo Salah is classy and respects the club too much to go out as a petulant or entitled player. The outburst in the mix zone is clearly in response to the club engineering him out and it being perceived as broken promises.
Salah has adapted his game over the last few years. He relies less on his speed and more on his tight control and body strength. I wouldn't say he dithers on the ball, but is able to isolate a defender and sometimes two, draw them in to open up space for the no9, no8s and no10. That's what he did last season and it is what he is capable of this season if he was given the ball more often - which has been the bigger issue for all of our forwards as we spend the whole game passing it between centre backs.
I do agree we need a direct speedster as neither Salah or Gakpo are that. Semenyo fits the bill there. I would argue if Salah were to leave, we would need two. Perhaps that is why we are keeping tabs on Fofana and Diomande - who can also play either side like Semenyo.
As for the current formation and tactics being the way forward - I won't hold my breath. The coaches in the PL are smart enough to find its flaws. I think the issue with the coaching is much deeper than formation.
I hope Mo says until the summer. I don't believe he will be a troublemaker. He is very aware of his relationship and image with the fans, unlike others we do not speak of.
18 Dec 2025 11:30:11
I think it is harsh to criticize Gakpo for his defensive work - I very much think that he puts in a shift.
Salah is not defensively minded, he wasn´t last year or the year before. I still think he has plenty to give, and the numbers from this season is not representable, due to, the entire team not performing. last year he had a goal involvement above 1/ 90 min, and I think this season the tactics has been lobsided favoring Gakpo, meanwhile Salah has been left isolated to the right.
Revise Salah´s role Positionally/ technically and add Semenyo instead of Gakpo.
18 Dec 2025 11:32:20
I really doubt that!
18 Dec 2025 12:11:27
We don’t put crosses into the box. I’ve watched dom grav and think it was Bradley or Gomez playing around on the edge of the box when Ekitike was stood there waiting for a cross. The ball was passed around about 8 times before it went backwards.
Mo wasn’t even playing. Don’t know what the tactics was that day but it was definitely not crossing the ball in. It’s like it was when pep came back ( I think it was) and we are trying to walk the ball into the goal.
18 Dec 2025 12:13:50
@Raceylfc, are you sure about that re: Olise? Cos Im not. I think Semenyo is going to be that guy to replace him when Salah leaves.
@MKS, I agree with @Pelican. If Salah goes, is cos the club want him gone to raise funds. Why? If Salah wanted to go to Saudi, he could have left 2 years ago or even last summer where he could literally name his price for the sign on fee and his wages (Ed01's exact words) and still told them to do one.
Salah loves LFC and really wants to do his part in getting us out of the sticky patch BUT if the club want him gone then, what can he do? Just the way I see it.
18 Dec 2025 12:49:25
Salah's post afcon form is usually so bad, that it makes sense for someone else to pay his wages whilst he has a woeful 6 months.
18 Dec 2025 12:53:39
In my mind the only players that should be 100% starting right now are Ali, Grab, Szob and Ekitike. All other starting positions are up for grabs based on effort and being able to play the system Slot wants to play whilst he remains the boss, and it's up to the players to prove they deserve it.
18 Dec 2025 13:02:45
In an ideal world would be great to see Salah get a big send off at Anfield after a game where we win the league, similar to some of the players at the end of last season.
Hopefully Brighton isn't the last we see of Salah but in this day and age sentiments isn't at the top of Pro Football clubs agendas.
18 Dec 2025 13:26:44
I think he'll stay but I'd be very surprised if he's here next season.
18 Dec 2025 14:06:11
Semenyo would be coming in for the LW, his favoured position wudnt he? if so then were going to see a fair bit of cutting in (ala Gakpo) from him aswell.
18 Dec 2025 14:52:43
Gakpo isn’t great at tracking back but does make his presence felt when he’s defending corners.
18 Dec 2025 15:12:27
I think that if Semenyo came in Jan it might be cover for Salah in the short-term with a view to ultimately moving him over to the left. The fact he can play right across the front line is a big plus.
18 Dec 2025 15:58:16
If he wants to go in January, the club won't stand in his way but they are not actively trying to sell him in January. The hawking around that caused an issue between him and club was for a transfer in the summer.
Olise as far as I'm aware is not a target and he shouldn't be either.
18 Dec 2025 16:13:55
To be fair Olise looks different class this year, he isn't primarily a goalscorer even though he can certainly score goals himself, I think that's probably the biggest draw when it comes to him, because he can stay out wide and create or come inside and cause havoc too.
Defensively and work rate wise he still lacks a bit but every other aspect of his game has gone up a few notches.
18 Dec 2025 16:37:15
Well if he lacks defensively and workrate wise playing for Bayern in the Bundesliga he' ll struggle for us. Would prefer going forward to just get the best from the Premier League. I know you can find gems like Ekitike abroad but on the whole think your safer shopping at home.
18 Dec 2025 18:29:26
I hope Salah stays as long as he wants. I don't get this talk about him not fitting the team - the whole point of buying strikers and a 10 was so that we would have more options and Salah still seems important to that for me.
I agree with a lot of people that playing Salah in a 2 next to Ekitike would be a good roll for him until we get a more established setup with a 433.
Mostly, I just think writing Salah off because of this year and last when we've been playing really poor attacking football because slot is trying to change to a slow possession style that doesn't suit Salah (or any Liverpool team) is short sighted. I hope Salah stays at least until a new manager who has ideas to play fast attacking football comes in and can reassess how best to use him.
18 Dec 2025 18:54:49
Weird take. Especially after the way everything happened. If Salah wanted to go in literally a couple of weeks why would he bother making amends?
That makes about as much sense as wiping your arse with your elbow.
{Ed025's Note - but has he made amends Chewy?, its a halt to hostilities but i have not heard any apologies mate, maybe hes taking time out to weigh op his options?..
19 Dec 2025 00:54:04
If salah stays . he won't be on the bench much, he is still vital to us, he showed in the hour when he was back that a fit hungry Salah is a brilliant player.