Arne Slot needs Liverpool trio to deliver or it won't just be Mohamed Salah saying goodbye
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The timing of Salah’s announcement means Slot will be late to the party. All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageJurgen Klopp has already been there, eulogising the Egyptian in his own inimitable way and reminiscing about the Salah/Mane/Firmino days.“The Mo movie is a beautiful movie,” said Klopp.
But it will not be pretty special if Liverpool vs Brentford on the last day of the season is a playoff for a UEFA Conference League spot.It certainly won’t be pretty special for Slot.Perhaps the Klopp love-in on his charitable return to Anfield and the Salah news came at a good time for him. Those narratives curtailed the inquest into the defeat at Brighton.But as he is asked about Salah’s long goodbye ahead of the FA Cup trip to Manchester City, Slot could be forgiven for wondering if there will be more than one farewell tour over these next eight weeks.The fantastic achievement of winning the Premier League in his first season in English club football should mean Slot has enough credit to be pardoned an underwhelming follow-up campaign.
If Liverpool do not have Champions League football on next season’s schedule, it is hard to see Slot still in charge.For Liverpool to have Champions League football next season, he needs marquee players to step up to the plate.And not just Salah. Whether or not Liverpool are in the Champions League next season is now irrelevant to Salah.The players with the greatest motivation to secure Champions League football are those who made big-money moves to the Premier League champions.Florian Wirtz put in an outstanding two-goal performance for Germany in a 4-3 win over Switzerland on Friday and Hugo Ekitike had two cameos for France - including a scoring one against Brazil - that should have sharpened him up for Liverpool’s run-in.And Alexander Isak should be back in action when the international break is over.Even though Liverpool’s final Premier League placing does not really matter to him, Salah’s farewell tour might give him extra motivation to produce his best.But what Slot really needs is for last summer’s headline signings to live up to their billings between now and the end of the season.Otherwise, Salah might not be the only one on a farewell tour.