Arne Slot has entered crunch talks with Mohamed Salah over his future at Liverpool. After his choreographed tirade against the club at Elland Road last weekend, it feels inevitable which way the pendulum will swing. The Egyptian’s era at Anfield appears to be coming, or to have come, to an end.
“I will have a conversation with Mo this morning, the outcome of that conversation determines how it will look tomorrow,” Slot said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton, the last game before Salah leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations. Contrary to Salah’s approach, Slot is keen to keep their summit behind closed doors. “What I need is a conversation with him. I think the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here.”
When Salah, Liverpool’s third-highest all-time goalscorer, stepped into the mixed zone for only the fourth time in eight years to unleash hell on the club he’s brought so much glory to, he threatened to plunge Liverpool into a civil war. It was an act of mutiny, compounding the dire on-pitch form that has been witnessed over the past three months.
Without the dressing room, Slot’s situation would have been unsalvageable. However, a back-to-basics performance against Inter Milan indicated that Salah’s views were not that of the collective. Embroiled in a soap opera, Liverpool came together to notch their fourth win at the San Siro in as many years and, crucially, their first away win in the Champions League without Salah since 2009. Life without their long-time talisman suddenly didn’t look so perilous.
The display saw a change of shape, one that would never have been logical with Salah in the team. Ditching the requirement of explosive wingers, Slot played four central midfielders – Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai – in a diamond against Inter, with the £194m strike-partnership of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike starting together for only the second time to form the attack.
The result of this switch in system was hardly mind-blowing. Liverpool didn’t create a huge amount at the San Siro and only snatched victory thanks to a late dubious penalty. But they also didn’t allow Inter to create anything of note, looking far less vulnerable at the back than in recent times. This is a step in the right direction, progress that has perhaps been facilitated by Salah’s tantrum and subsequent omission.
Suddenly, it looked like there had been some cohesive thinking behind a summer transfer strategy that has thus far brought more questions than answers. While neither Milos Kerkez nor the injured Jeremie Frimpong started in Milan, the additional defensive support provided by the two wide midfielders may be the solution to the susceptibilities that have tainted their early Liverpool career – something Salah, as Jamie Carragher highlighted, does not offer. The formation will also play to the strengths of Florian Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak; with Wirtz dropping into the space created by the diamond and pulling the strings behind the two No 9s, this could be the path to harmony for Liverpool’s expensive attacking triangle.
Slot already likes what he sees and, after half a season of Ekitike and Isak vying for the same position, the Dutchman is seeing the potential of starting both week-in, week-out.
“What we all saw, which is normal, is the more they play, the more they will adapt and the better they will cooperate,” Slot said. “The other two nines on the pitch for Inter were more used to playing with each other. It’s the second time they have played together and I think we will see more of this in the future.”
While things are yet to properly click, this tactical overhaul could be exactly what Slot needs to get the best out of his summer recruits. This, perhaps more than Salah’s outburst, may seal the Egyptian’s fate; his piece no longer fits into Liverpool’s puzzle.
Slot insists that he is entering peace talks with last season’s Premier League golden boot winner with the intention of retaining his services beyond January. “I have no reasons to not want him to stay,” he asserted. His actions, however, speak louder.
Benching Salah for three consecutive games was the blatant indication that the 33-year-old, who signed a lucrative two-year contract extension in April, is no longer cutting the mustard. By omitting him from the squad entirely following the Leeds incident, Salah now looks out of his plans. “The decision to play a player or have him in the squad, as I have experienced it until now, and I think this will never change, is entirely up to me,” Slot added.
The tides are changing and with Liverpool in need of innovation to discover their title-winning form of last season, severing ties with their poster boy could be the tearful sacrifice required to usher in an new era of success at Anfield.