Salah To Leave – Why Liverpool Will Regret Releasing The Egyptian King | OneFootball

Mo Salah Question Marks

It’s quite bizarre that by far and away the best player in the Premier League this season is having question marks over his future at Liverpool.

But with less than six months left on his deal at Liverpool, the Egyptian is yet to extend his current deal and could leave Anfield for pastures new.

It could be one of the worst mistakes in Liverpool’s history if the Reds decide to let Salah go at the end of the season.

The numbers very much reflect that with Arne Slot bringing the best out of Salah that the Premier League has seen over the last six seasons at least.

Salah – Better Than Ever

This season Salah is averaging 1.51 goals and assists per 90. He’s slightly overperforming his xG and xA which is 1.22 per 90.

In both of these metrics, this is Salah’s best return in the last six years. So, Slot has made him more productive, which would have been impossible to fathom especially after the seasons Salah has been enjoying under Jurgen Klopp.

Most notably, where Salah has really thrived is his chance creation. He’s created the most big chances (22) in the Premier League while he’s averaged 0.41 xA per 90 which is the second highest in his career after last season’s high of 0.42 xA.

Despite making fewer passes and having fewer touches than normal, Slot has set up his system to ensure Salah gets the ball in the areas where he thrives best and is able to make maximum impact.

His creativity has really shot up in the last two years, which is very notable.

Photo: IMAGO

For shot-creating actions (4.83 per 90) and for key passes (2.31 per 90), Salah’s only season where he performed better was last season, and even then the difference was marginal (4.94 and 2.34 per 90).

But he’s also improved in areas where it was thought he had declined in. Last season for example he averaged 0.96 completed take-ons per 90. This was the lowest he had averaged in his entire career in the Premier League.

Salah’s effectiveness on the ball in one vs one situations was really questioned at the time. Under Slot though conversely Salah has hit his join record for the metric averaging 1.73 completed take-ons per 90 and matching his career high from the 2021/22 season.

He’s also making more progressive carries (4.36 per 90) and more carries into the penalty area (3.82 per 90) than ever before.

It’s hard to overlook these numbers and to see the end product as well and deny Salah is simply in the form of his life.

Importantly, Slot’s getting the best out of him defensively as well. The Dutchman has him involved in the defensive transitions and we’ve seen him track back a lot more than he had in previous seasons.

He’s averaging a career high 0.76 tackles and interceptions per 90 and a career high for tackles per 90 in his own defensive third (0.18).

In pretty much every metric, Salah is at an all-time high. Perhaps the most important one is taking a look at the net-goals scored while he was on the pitch and the net-goals conceded.

Salah’s previous best in this metric was in the 2022/23 season when he averaged a net plus of 1.49. Last season, though he was in the minuses at -0.60 and even in Liverpool’s last title winning campaign in 2019/20 Salah was at -0.34.

This season, though, he has been enjoying his best net positive campaign with +1.55. He’s clearly a massive asset in this team.

Photo: IMAGO

Letting Him Go Would Be Foolish

If you look at those numbers and you think he’s not worth another three-year deal, you’re probably in the minority.

Salah is 32 years old, he’ll be 33 in June. But he’s got plenty left in the tank to go on until he’s 36 years old.

Let’s just take at Barcelona’s current top-scorer Robert Lewandowski as an example – the pole is exactly 36 years old.

At the same age Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both still playing at a very high level in the Champions League.

The truth is there is nobody like him in world football at the moment. Replacing the numbers he is producing at the moment would either cost a fortune – the kind of money Liverpool are unlikely to spend under FSG – or it would simply be impossible.

Which is why Salah’s best negotiation tactic has been not in the boardroom but on the pitch. Doing what he does best.