Eight reasons why Mo Salah’s levels have dropped as Liverpool star delivers bombshell Reds exit statement | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah has announced he will leave Anfield at the end of the season, and while his legacy as a bona fide Liverpool legend remains undiminished, some lukewarm performances this term may have contributed to the Egyptian announcing his farewell.

Salah has proved one of the greatest signings in Liverpool’s modern history, helping to win seven major honours during his time at Anfield and blitzing his way to an incredible 250 goals in 419 appearances for the club.

Off the back of arguably his best season yet on Merseyside last season, which resulted in a jaw-dropping 55 goal contributions (34 scored, 23 assists) in 53 appearances, Liverpool activated a new deal for the iconic star, keeping him at Anfield until 2027 and rewarding him with the most lucrative contract in the club’s history, worth an estimated £400,000 a week.

Yet this season, Salah standards have significantly dropped off for Liverpool and, after limping his way to just 10 goals from 34 appearances across the season so far, and amid some relatively anonymous performances, the time has finally arrived for the star to confirm his departure.

In delivering a shock exit statement on Tuesday evening, Salah confirmed his news across his social media platforms in an emotionally-charged statement.

The player now has a minimum of 11 games left in a Liverpool shirt – and potentially more if he can inspire the Reds to progress in both the FA Cup and Champions League.

And while his goodbye at Anfield will be tinged with some small regrets – not least his falling out with Arne Slot earlier this season – there were perhaps some strong reasons as to why his form may have taken a tumble this season…

Eight reasons why Mo Salah has been off the boil for Liverpool

Not playing for a new contract

This time last season, Salah’s future – and that ticking clock on his contract – was headline news. Salah was loving it too and fed the media with some crafty hints that not just fuelled the myth that he was leaving, but also ramped up the speculation over what a Salah-less Liverpool would look like.

Of course, it all worked out beautifully in the player’s favour as he put pen to paper on a new deal worth a staggering £400,000 a week and secured his future at Anfield.

But the very notion of that attention seemed to fuel the player and helped him pull off his greatest season yet in Liverpool colours.

Now, one year on, the attention has been moved away from Salah, and the player is currently no longer playing for his immediate future as such.

We’re not saying the spark has been lost nor the desire is no longer there (the player does, absolutely still love scoring goals and chasing down every Liverpool record you can imagine) but there’s no longer than element of having to play for his future which may have seen his levels drop slightly.

Lack of a regular right-back behind him and missing Trent

Salah enjoyed a brilliant understanding with Trent Alexander-Arnold down Liverpool’s right flank and the pair combined beautifully together for the best part of eight glorious seasons.

With Alexander-Arnold departing Anfield this summer, the Reds have been shorn not just of one of their most creative outlets, but of a player Salah enjoyed a somewhat telepathic relationship with.

This season has been anything but consistent down Liverpool’s right. Jeremie Frimpong was signed as the Salah replacement, but has failed to settle and question marks are already being raised on his suitability for Slot’s system.

Conor Bradley is another option, but he’s been hooked at half-time during his last two Premier League starts, largely owing to the fact that he was on a yellow card both times and Slot did not want to risk his dismissal.

And then there is Dominik Szoboszlai, who has extraordinary well when called on to play in the unorthodox position, he is clearly better suited to his more accustomed advanced midfield role and feels very much like a square peg in a round hole when asked to play there.

Age and less willingness to track back

Salah is 33 now, and while still at the peak of his powers physically, questions have been raised over his unwillingness to track back and his failure to stick with opposing full-backs.

It was a tactic that multiple opponents have exposed this season, perhaps none better than Chelsea who beat them 2-1 in December, with Marc Cucurella’s bursts into the box, coupled with the Egyptian’s unwillingness to track his runs, often posing situations of danger and ultimately leading to the Blues’ last-gasp winner.

Granted, the tracking back has never been a huge part of his game, but is there even more of an unwillingness now to do the donkey work and instead preserve his energies for what he’s really good at: making and scoring goals.

Slot’s system has allowed Salah to get away with that even more than it ever did under Jurgen Klopp, but when the going gets tough and results start to turn, it’s easy to see how and why this looks like a real problem for the Reds and a new riddle for Slot to solve.

The sale of Luis Diaz and how the Colombian did the legwork for him

As Daniel Sturridge perfectly explained, Liverpool are missing the energy and work rate of Salah’s fellow attacker Luis Diaz this season.

The Colombian was a tireless runner and often sacrificed his own needs to help the team, often doing the defending from the front that Salah so often lacked.

“Luis Diaz is a massive miss for me,” Sturridge told Sky Sports. “When you look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, I think arguably he was the one who would set the press in the front three.”

Having shipped the Colombian and Darwin Nunez out, Liverpool moved to bring in Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak and while both have very obvious qualities, they may not do as much for the team as Diaz did.

“Ekitike and Isak and Wirtz work hard – we can’t question their quality.

“But Diaz would sacrifice himself defensively. That’s what they’ve got to figure out now, who in that attack is going to give themselves up a little bit.”

He added: “In a front three, there always has to be one guy who goes, ‘I’m not stats hungry’.

“Right now, I’m not sure the manager knows what he’s going to do.”

Mental fatigue and the Diogo Jota tragedy

We can’t overlook the tragic loss of Salah’s close friend and teammate Diogo Jota had on the player, nor any of those who knew and loved the Portuguese player at Anfield.

His passing undoubtedly leaves scars and emotional difficulties for all associated with the club.

Liverpool would never use it as an excuse – though Virgil van Dijk has hinted at it – but as anyone who has lost someone will know, mental fatigue cannot be underestimated.

Second-season syndrome under Arne Slot

The term second-season syndrome used to be a real thing in football and was one of the buzz phrases of the last decade before it ultimately fizzled out.

But is there an element that Liverpool are just not thriving in the same way under Slot in season two as they were in that first year under the Dutchman?

After eight years of the much-loved Klopp, Slot was like a breath of fresh air and his arrival gave many players a new lease of life. Perhaps that energy of wanting to impress a new manager has faded somewhat now.

Or maybe it’s a case that Slot’s messages are not cutting through the way they used to.

Granted, there are still time for Liverpool to turn their season around, but as things stand right now, both Salah and Liverpool look a long way off the well-oiled machine that romped to Premier League glory last season.

Too many changes to the Liverpool side and a period of transition

Liverpool may have spent a whopping £440m (€505m, $600m) this summer on adding some serious quality to their ranks, but is there a danger that Slot has made too many changes at once?

In total, 19 players either signed or departed Liverpool this summer and those wholesale changes would always result in something of a bedding-in process as the Liverpool manager works out his best side.

Indeed, aside from Ekitike, Liverpool have not seen any of their new arrivals at their very best.

And with more emphasis perhaps placed on Salah to continue leading from the front, it is just not happening right now for the Egyptian King…

But when they get going, so too will Salah and they all click, Liverpool will be a fearsome opponent for any side Europe over.

Simple: it’s just form

In simple terms, Salah is, like his teammates, just going through a rough patch.

But as the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent but Liverpool fans have witnessed a sad showing from Salah who has largely failed to get himself back firing on all cylinders.

He’s had periods of struggle before. But time and again, he’s bounced back to his best and answered critics in the very best possible way.

Sadly, this season, that has rarely happened, culminating perhaps in Tuesday’s bombshell statement.

And while the succession planning for life after Salah will undoubtedly already be underway, we are now officially entering the ‘Salah endgame’ at Anfield.

Liverpool’s top option to replace Salah; where too next for Egyptian?

With regards where Salah ends up next, Saudi officials have been pushing hard to bring Salah to the Middle East – and sources have now confirmed talks are at an advanced stage following the Anfield legend’s shock statement on Tuesday evening

The RB Leipzig teenager has emerged as one of the most exciting young wide players in Europe, and sources have confirmed that Liverpool are internally discussing the possibility of pushing forward with a move as soon as this summer.

Importantly, we understand the Merseyside club’s interest is not fully dependent on the future of Salah.