So, will Mo say sorry and stay?
Salah right to be frustrated but Reds must be tempted to sell
MOHAMED SALAH stopping for a chat with the media as he left the London Stadium had seemed about as likely as Liverpool winning the title this season after their dismal draw at West Ham.
He had spoken in the mixed zone — a corridor of uncertainty where players walk past the hungry press pack — just twice in seven years at Liverpool. But still, a small group of reporters who cover most Liverpool matches optimistically went along.
Unsurprisingly, nobody stopped for a chat, but a handful of words from Salah made bigger waves worldwide than a sit-down chat with any other player.
Salah’s bust-up with Jurgen Klopp was big news, everywhere. Klopp tried to douse the fire by saying the issue had been swiftly resolved. But minutes after the German’s olive branch, Salah seemed to reject it. A man of few words, as ever, but one sentence proved that all is not well with the Liverpool legend.
‘Fancy a chat, Mo?’ and ‘All OK with Jurgen now, Mo?’ were the questions sent his way. ‘There will be fire if I speak,’ came the reply as he trudged towards the team bus. ‘Fire?’ a reporter questioned with a hint of surprise.
A switch might have flicked in Salah’s head in that second — this was only going to add to the circus of speculation. He could have played it down there and then. But he simply came back with: ‘Of course.’
Salah was surely biting his tongue when he could have had a dig at Klopp, the manager who has been so influential in his journey from a ‘flop’ at Chelsea to one of the greatest players this league has seen.
But the bizarre episode, stemming from Salah’s frustration at being dropped for the second time in three games, would have set alarm bells ringing in Boston and Rotterdam for Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group and incoming manager Arne Slot respectively.
As detailed in these pages last week, Liverpool face a conundrum. Salah, 31, is out of contract next year, so do they cash in this summer? He is still their star player and where would they be without his 37 goal involvements this campaign? On the face of it, it would be daft to sell him.
But this incident has suddenly made a potential nine-figure transfer fee look a little more appealing. Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad had an offer of £150million turned down last August. No player is bigger than the club and this threatens to be a tense situation that continues to dominate debate.
Salah is right to be frustrated. He is the shining light of the Klopp era and it is ending badly. But by the same token, he was not right to behave in the way he did. He must apologise and get this swept under the carpet before the Liverpool top brass conclude the end is near.
Meanwhile, Harvey Elliott was in some discomfort after the game and Andy Robertson will be assessed today after hobbling away from the London Stadium with what appeared to be an ankle injury.
The Scotland left back is hopeful it is not a significant injury blow as the European Championship approaches.
Robertson gestured to the substitutes’ bench and, though he remained on the pitch, was limping as he boarded the team bus. But there is optimism at Liverpool that it is nothing more than an impact injury.
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Areola 7; Coufal 7.5, Zouma 7, Ogbonna 7, Emerson 7; Soucek 6.5 (Ward-Prowse 74min, 6), Alvarez 7; BOWEN 8, Paqueta 6.5, Kudus 7; Antonio 7.5. Scorers: Bowen 43, Antonio 77. Booked: None. Manager: David Moyes 7. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 6 (Gomez 78), Quansah 5 (Szoboszlai 90+1), Van Dijk 5, Robertson 7; Mac Allister 5.5, Endo 5 (Nunez 78), Gravenberch 7.5; Elliott 6.5, Gakpo 6, Diaz 7 (Salah 78). Scorers: Robertson 48, Areola 65 (og). Booked: Endo, Mac Allister. Manager: Jurgen Klopp 6. Referee: Anthony Taylor 7. Attendance: 62,474.