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A year on from saying he was “more out than in” at Liverpool in an infamous interview, the club’s talisman may finally need to be phased out
Richard JollySenior Football CorrespondentMonday 01 December 2025 12:36 GMTComments
open image in galleryViewers of Liverpool's win over West Ham witnessed the rare sight of Salah on the bench (Getty Images)
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So it transpires that Mohamed Salah has something in common with much of the West Ham fanbase. They all have unhappy memories of the London Stadium. The Egyptian’s may stem less from the sense a soulless bowl is ill-suited to football or some particularly demoralising home defeats than from two low points in a Liverpool career of many a high.
There was the argument with Jurgen Klopp when waiting to come on in May 2024 which highlighted that, mutually beneficial as the alliance of two of the most prominent figures in Liverpool’s success over the last decade had proved, they were not soulmates. There was the next Premier League game he began on the bench, 18 months later, when he remained there, also giving him a chance to savour the London Stadium’s lack of atmosphere.
Liverpool’s 2-0 win at West Ham could mark the beginning of the end for Salah. Or, Arne Slot suggested, squad rotation in a packed fixture list. Or, perhaps more accurately, a bit of both.
That Slot benched Salah when his own future had become the subject of conversation, when Liverpool had lost nine of 12, meant it was not just another game. That it contained Florian Wirtz’s best Premier League performance so far and Alexander Isak’s first top-flight goal since his £125m move meant it was laden with symbolism. Out with the old, in with the new?
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Yet even before the two record signings had delivered more than before, there was significance to Salah’s demotion. It came three days after Mauro Junior had strolled past Salah with conspicuous ease to set up PSV Eindhoven’s second goal in their 4-1 win at Anfield. Marc Cucurella had said Chelsea targeted attacks on Liverpool’s right because of Salah’s reluctance to track back. At Manchester City, he had left Conor Bradley isolated against the relentless Jeremy Doku.
open image in gallerySlot has struggled to fit Salah and both his expensive new forwards in the same team (Getty Images)And at West Ham, Slot picked the most solid right flank available: Joe Gomez, more of a centre-back, at right-back, the workaholic Dominik Szoboszlai in front of him. As a combination, it was an antidote to Salah. It was a also a sequel of sorts. The common denominator in the three Premier or Champions League matches this season that Salah has not started is that each was away from home: after Galatasaray and Eintracht Frankfurt, the logical conclusion is that he will not begin next week’s more daunting test against Inter at San Siro.
That three different players have started in his stead – Jeremie Frimpong in Turkey, Wirtz in Germany, Szoboszlai in east London – may indicate another failing in Liverpool’s squad building. There is no real natural alternative on the right flank, especially if Slot only seems to consider Federico Chiesa a substitute. There is no successor to Sadio Mane or Luis Diaz, versatile forwards who were very adept on the right, no obvious deputy like Xherdan Shaqiri was.
That could mean Salah is soon afforded a reprieve. Yet, given Liverpool’s fragilities on their travels, he may get to see other stadia from a vantage point behind the manager. They have not won away with him playing since his injury-time penalty at Burnley almost three months ago.
open image in galleryThe decision to drop Salah seemed more momentous as it came in the same game as Isak breaking his scoring drought (Getty Images)An era of primacy may have come to a dramatic end. Salah earned his preferential treatment, his return of 29 league goals and 18 assists last season was remarkable, even if that could now appear a final high before a plunge into decline.
After 13 Premier League games last year, he had 11 goals and seven assists. Now those tallies have dropped to four and two respectively. And if those goals include the crucial winner at Turf Moor, only one has come before the 89th minute: against Aston Villa, when he resembled the Salah of old.
Slot has wrestled with the question of how to balance his side. If it has become clear he wants Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai to fill three of the six spots in front of the back four, it is often apparent he wants Cody Gakpo, too: the Dutchman is likeliest to supply work off the ball.
Which, in turn, could only leave two places for Salah, Wirtz, Isak and Hugo Ekitike to contest; indeed the two £100m men have only started two matches with the Egyptian, against Atletico Madrid and Crystal Palace. That reflects injuries, too; Slot’s decisions were postponed.
open image in gallerySalah’s reluctance to track back cost Liverpool dearly in the defeat to PSV (Getty Images)But the fees paid for the three newcomers provided the first glimpse of Liverpool’s attempt to shape their attack after Salah. It would be an exaggeration to say a formula has been found now Isak has found the net. But decision-making could be made with the long term in mind; or the short, given Salah’s form. Even when Mane was in such excellent form he made the Ballon d’Or podium, Salah felt the main man in the forward line; sheer weight of goals and assists was an obvious reason why.
Yet Slot, the manager who suggested he could change little, dropped the talisman on Sunday. And even if it was for one game only, it may be a sign of things to come. At a point when Slot’s future as Liverpool manager became a matter of debate, he may have emulated some of his predecessors.
Bill Shankly started to break up his first great team after the 1970 FA Cup defeat to Watford, dropping Tommy Lawrence, Ron Yeats and Ian St John a week later. Bob Paisley allowed his slippers and cardigan to camouflage his ruthlessness as he moved on from European Cup winners. Klopp ushered Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia in 2023 by opting not to give them the reassurances they wanted of their place in his plans.
Salah got Slot’s support as his contract saga dragged on last season. The head coach wanted him to stay. But go back a year and Salah gave a rare, and infamous, interview when he said he was “more out than in”. Now he may be more out than in of Slot’s side.
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Mohamed SalahLiverpoolAlexander IsakArne SlotWest HamBurnleyInter MilanchelseaPSVHugo EkitikeDominik SzoboszlaiJoin our commenting forum
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