1 week ago
10
Paul Merson is expecting Mohamed Salah to return to Liverpool’s team against Brentford on Saturday - despite suggesting the club made a mistake by giving him a new contract.
Salah will be aiming to earn a spot back in Arne Slot’s side as the Reds return to Premier League action, having been dropped to the bench for Wednesday’s Champions League triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Egyptian has not had a great start to the season, having scored three goals and made three assists in 12 appearances so far. He is without a goal contribution from his last five games for the club, and his social media activity would suggest that he isn’t too happy with his current predicament.
With his teammates performing so well during the 5-1 victory in Germany this week, there have been some suggestions that Salah could miss out on a start again on Saturday, although doubts over Alexander Isak’s fitness may present him with a route back into the team.
And Merson believes he will start against Brentford, although the former Arsenal midfielder has questioned whether Liverpool was right to give Salah a new two-year contract earlier this year.
"The million-dollar question heading into this weekend is, 'Will Mo Salah play?'" Merson told Sportskeeda.
“He didn't start against Frankfurt and Liverpool won. But this is a must-win game, if Liverpool lose, they could be seven points behind Arsenal.
“I called this a long time ago, didn't I? I said that within six months of him signing that contract, we could be sat here thinking, 'why would they give him that deal when they knew he would be on the decline?'
“I know what Salah did last year, but that's in the past. Look at what Florian Wirtz did last season, that isn't enough for him to be in the Liverpool XI now, right?
“Slot will have to make a big decision this weekend. Salah looks nowhere near the player we've known all these years. But he's just one of them players you just can't leave out, isn't he?
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
“Brentford are really good from set-pieces, so I expect both Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo to start because of their height and how they can help out in them situations. I just think he will go with Salah as the third attacker and hope for the best here.”
Liverpool.com says: It’s all well and good suggesting that Liverpool was wrong to give Salah a new contract, but at the time, you wouldn’t have found many people suggesting that given the season he had.
It has been a tough start for him this campaign, but it’s not like he hasn’t been getting chances in front of goal. If he can just find his shooting boots once again, you wouldn’t be surprised to see him back to his best pretty soon.
English (US) ·