Liverpool FC Thread #151 :- Rise Up LFC

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Every awe-inspiring performance from Mohamed Salah represents a double-edged sword for Liverpool.

The Egyptian winger has taken the fast-track to global stardom since arriving at Anfield last summer. Records are tumbling on a weekly basis and the awards are stacking up.

The £36.9million the Reds paid Roma to secure his services increasingly looks like small change. His tally of 28 goals in 34 matches is an incredible haul for a winger.

He’s on the cusp of becoming only the third Liverpool star since the turn of the millennium to reach the 30-goal mark in a season.

He will be following in the footsteps of Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez. The Kop has a new icon but amid the buzz surrounding the African Footballer of the Year there’s also an undercurrent of concern.



Fans have been here before. A player lights up Anfield, takes the leap into the world class bracket, kisses the badge and is lured away by the promise of both riches and glory elsewhere.

When Jurgen Klopp took over at Liverpool he vowed to make the club a final destination rather than simply a stepping stone. He wanted to put a stop to the talent drain which had seen the likes of Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Torres and Suarez move on.

However, last month’s sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona proved that Klopp’s mission remains a work in progress. Liverpool eventually caved in to the Brazilian’s persistent demands to leave after fighting so hard to keep him last summer.

The fear among Kopites is that Salah’s head could be turned in the same manner.



“There is a real chance he could play for Real Madrid next year. The Spanish will make an offer for him,” Egyptian FA president Hany Abo Rida claimed recently.

“Obviously if an Egyptian plays for a club as popular around the world as Real Madrid, it’s going to be great for Egyptian football.”

Of course for now that remains just speculation but it would be strange if Real weren’t interested. With Cristiano Ronaldo’s powers on the wane and boss Zinedine Zidane under pressure, they’re in need of an injection of real class.

Should Liverpool be worried?

And what can they do to help ensure that Salah stays around for the long term?



For a start, Klopp will take solace from the fact that Salah is clearly happy and settled at Anfield. Yes, the winger has been a revelation over the past seven months but Liverpool have also been very good to him.

Klopp has helped take his game to the next level by working on his decision making and giving him the tactical discipline to complement that searing pace and breathtaking skill.

Salah also isn’t South American. He doesn’t have that emotional attachment with either of the Spanish giants like Suarez or Coutinho.

Speak to team-mates and staff at Melwood about Salah and the words quiet, intelligent and humble repeatedly crop up.

His career is guided by Ramy Abbas Issa, who replaced the agents who negotiated his move from Basel to Chelsea in 2014.

Salah signed a five-year contract worth around £90,000 per week last summer and offering him an extension on improved terms would certainly be a wise move prior to the World Cup. He deserves to be alongside Virgil van Dijk as the club’s highest earner.

Coutinho was gone within 12 months of penning a new deal with no release clause so it doesn’t guarantee anything, but the difference there was that ultimately Liverpool were willing to put a price on him and Barcelona paid it.

Liverpool won’t be willing to do the same with Salah this summer.

As his stock continues to rise, talk of him being worth £200million isn’t fanciful, but to Klopp he’s priceless.

Salah’s career is rocketing and the Reds have to ensure their ambition continues to matches his own hopes and dreams. Qualification for the Champions League this term is crucial.

The Egyptian King is rightly the toast of Anfield. Liverpool must do everything they can to keep him on that throne.

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Liverpool have been told goalkeeper Alisson should cost 'far more' than £45million - because he is the 'Lionel Messi of goalkeepers'.

The Roma stopper is one of a number under consideration by Jurgen Klopp for the summer, as he contemplates strengthening his options between the sticks.

The Brazilian has been in superb form for the Serie A side this season, and is also reportedly attracting attention from Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain.

There have been suggestions he would cost between £40million and £45million, but former Roma goalkeeping coach Roberto Negrisolo - who helped bring the 25-year-old to Italy from Internacional - thinks he is worth far more, drawing comparisons with Messi.

“Is Alisson worth €50million (£45m)? Don’t be silly, he’s worth far more than that,” Negrisolo told Il Romanista.

“I don’t think many people have realised who Alisson is. This guy is a phenomenon. He is the number one of number ones. He is the Messi of goalkeepers, because he has the same mentality as Messi. He is a goalkeeper who can mark an era.

“There is absolutely no comparison with Gianluigi Donnarumma, because Alisson is extraordinary.

“The way he behaves in the goal, he reminds me of Dino Zoff. I’d also compare him to Michel Preud-Homme, who had the class of someone born to be a goalkeeper."

Alisson moved to the Italian capital in 2016, but served as only their Europa League goalkeeper in his debut campaign.

But after Wojciech Szczesny moved to Juventus in the summer, Alisson was promoted to first-choice goalkeeper, and has caught the eye with some splendid performances as Roma look to secure Champions League qualification.

And Negrisolo has given insight into why he has taken Serie A by storm - and how he would be a decade-long investment for any potential suitors.

"I told Alisson when I met him at Roma’s Trigoria ground that he was born for this," he added. "He was already strong when he arrived, but has improved even more since he has been in Italy, especially when coming out low to get the ball. Now he is far more decisive in those situations.

“I know goalkeepers, that is my business, and I can assure you Alisson can be a guarantee for at least another 10 years. He’s already a hero to the fans and Roma need to keep hold of him.

“Alisson is crucial off the field too, as you can see he has the mind of a coach. Look at the way he moves and acts when the ball is in his hands and you’ll understand.”

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Emre Can has AGREED to join Juventus at the end of the season - according to a top Italian agent.

Liverpool and Can remain deadlocked over renewing the player's contract, which expires this summer, with the German able to depart on a free transfer in six months time.

Juventus are also in talks with the 24-year-old, although the Reds remain hopeful the midfielder will decide to remain at Anfield.

Yet with disagreements over the structure and terms of the deal, Can looks likely to leave after four years on Merseyside.

Can gave Liverpool hope he would commit to the club in the long-term last month, but renowned agent Federico Pastorello has claimed terms have been agreed with Juventus.

"Emre Can is a huge coup, even more so because he’ll arrive on a free transfer. Marotta and Paratici have done very well,” he said.

“Juventus are a club that attract champions, and important signals are coming from the German."

Pastorello's listed clients include Antonio Candreva, Nani, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Patrice Evra.

In January, Can denied he had decided to join Juventus, saying: “I haven’t signed anything (with Juventus) or anyone. I am talking with everyone.

“Of course I am talking with Liverpool. Why not? I still have a contract here. It is an amazing club. What can I say? My agent does the rest. I just concentrate on the scene, on my performance and the football. I will give everything for this team.”

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Loris Karius says his job is to show Jurgen Klopp that Liverpool do NOT need a new No.1.

Nevertheless, it is expected that the Reds will be in the market for a goalkeeper this summer.

And if they are, whether they look at Alisson or Jan Oblak or Jack Butland or someone else, then the opinion of Hans Leitert will be sought.

Leitert's name has surfaced this week after Helge Payer, the former Austrian international, referred to him as the “head of goalkeeping” at the club.

That isn't true – John Achterberg is still the Reds' goalkeeping coach, and a respected member of Jurgen Klopp's backroom staff.

The ECHO can reveal, however, that Leitert has been used by the club's scouting department as a consultant since late 2016.

The 45-year-old is a former goalkeeper who played internationally for Austria and was a goalkeeping coach at Tottenham under Juande Ramos in 2008.

He spent five years as head of goalkeeping for Red Bull Global Soccer between 2010 and 2015, including their clubs in New York, Salzburg and Leipzig, and has worked variously with organisations such as FIFA, the Spanish FA and UEFA. He is also the author of a book 'The Art of Goalkeeping' and has contributed to numerous instructional DVDs for 'keepers.

His role at Liverpool is as a consultant, liaising with the club's recruitment team about potential transfer targets, and offering guidance and advice to, and on, the goalkeepers already at the club.

In a 2015 interview, Leitert outlined his approach to coaching – and in particular his style of analysing performances.

He said: “For a goalkeeping coach the most important sort of performance analysis is the technical/tactical analysis both during the game and the training. How is his performance in the three main topics he has to cover: How does he perform when defending his goal, defending his area in front of the goal and distributing the ball to his team-mates?

“This is the job of a goalkeeping coach. How does he assess the performance? We use objective statistics such as save percentages for example but also subjective observations to get a clear idea of the keeper’s impact during the game.

“The role of the goalkeeping coach is then to find out the real pattern, the real profile – independent of the 'script' of the game. He must deliver the right answer to the question 'what happened?'

“A decisive mistake in the last minute of the game is a terrible thing. We all know that. But how do we assess the mistake? Is it a thing that just happened once or is it a consequence of a certain weakness?

“We must never make the mistake to get lost in an emotional discussion about a mistake which might be caused by an unseen deflection, by a keeper staring into the floodlight for a split of a second during the delivery of a high cross, etc.

“For example: A keeper concedes a goal because he was mishandling a ball after a shot. A keeper might say “well I had two thoughts in my mind, to catch or to parry”. Well, then the analysis is clear – decision making process too long. And that is an answer I can live with and that is exactly what I expect a goalkeeping coach to find out. Not telling me that he has technical problems with catching.

“So the quality of the analysis is decisive. And a technology which helps you calculating save percentages or which helps you to analyse cognitive and physical abilities are very important to get the big picture right – but you also need the technical/tactical knowledge of the coach to get the source of a certain problem right.

"Only by then he can have a real impact on the future development of a player. And only by your helping hand your player will feel important and secure.”

It will be interesting, then, to see whether Karius, who now has the chance to establish himself as Liverpool's first choice, can accelerate his development at Anfield. Or if Simon Mignolet, demoted to the bench in recent weeks, can make yet another comeback.

Or if, with Leitert offering guidance, the Reds head into the market in the summer. Whatever happens, the Austrian will play a part.

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If Carlsberg did interviews this was the one Liverpool fans around the world wanted to hear.

Mohamed Salah , the new King of the Kop, speaking about his love for the club and how he is now playing where he has always wanted to play.

With 28 goals under his belt already - including two against Spurs on Sunday - Salah’s stunning impact at Anfield has had the unwanted knock-on effect of starting suggestions that Salah would be a target for a move away from Anfield, perhaps as early as this summer.

But in his first major magazine interview as a Red, Salah has told FourFourTwo that he’s loving life at LFC.

Salah told their March 2018 edition: “I have loved the club since I was young and knew this was a team I wanted to play for.

“I knew the history this club has and, as soon as I got the chance, I had to make it happen.”



Such protestations have been heard from new players before of course and some observers might wonder why such fondness didn’t see Salah arrive on Merseyside in January 2014 instead of Chelsea?

Maybe that explains why his representatives then are no longer in place and he is now looked after by his new agent Ramy Abbas.

Salah speaks warmly of his relationship with Jurgen Klopp and his teammates - especially Sadio Mane - at Anfield, while also insisting he continues to have a good relationship with Jose Mourinho despite his issues at Chelsea. He also looks back on his childhood where he started playing - as a left-back!

Salah’s stunning six months at Anfield have surprised many, even given that £36.9m price tag from Roma, but the man himself always backed himself.



In a rare moment of self-promotion, he said: “Come on, I know I’m good! I was comfortable at Roma, I had two great seasons there and I was very happy, but I’ve always been the sort of guy who takes a chance, to put myself under pressure.”

Liverpool’s return to the Champions League knock-out stages next week against Porto looks sure to be an occasion the player will relish with the tournament occupying a special place in his heart.

“My earliest football memory was watching the Champions League matches. I always loved watching Zidane, (his future Roma team-mate) Totti and the Brazilian Ronaldo. It’s an amazing feeling when you hear that music now before kick-off.”

A strong performance in the Champions League will no doubt see even more renditions of his new Kop song, where he is hailed as “the Egyptian King”.

What does he think of that new “King of the Kop” tag?

“I don’t know if it’s up to me say that, so maybe I’ll just let the fans say that. I’m happy scoring goals for the club I supported as a kid - that’s all that matters.”

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Lemar Rejects Deal

Thomas Lemar has rejected Monaco’s offer of a bumper new deal according to L’Equipe.

The esteemed French outlet are reporting the player- who apparently earns £20,000 a week- has turned down a substantial pay rise, fuelling rumours that the winger could be on his way to Anfield.

Reports in summer did suggest Liverpool had agreed personal terms with the player....

Could Lemar be joining Keita at Melwood this summer?

This can only be good news for the Reds!

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Ramsey to Reds?

Aaron Ramsey has entered the final eighteen months of his Arsenal contract and bookmakers Ladbrokes believe the midfielder is most likely to join Liverpool, should he leave the Emirates.

The Welshman scored the first hat-trick of his career against Everton last weekend, but with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moving to the club last summer, Ramsey could see Jurgen Klopp’s project as an exciting change of scenery.

Would he be a good addition to Liverpool’s midfield?

Aaron Ramsey – Next Club

Liverpool – 2/1

Chelsea – 4/1

Man United – 5/1

Juventus – 11/2

Real Madrid – 6/1

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After a brace in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday, @22mosalah has scored 9 goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances

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