Topics: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Premier League, Bournemouth
Jurgen Klopp has been told that Liverpool should consider selling Mohamed Salah in order to fund a rebuild in the summer.
Just six days on from inflicting a humiliating 7-0 defeat on bitter rivals Manchester United, Liverpool came crashing back down to earth with a lifeless 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Bournemouth.
Klopp's side struggled to create clear chances all afternoon, and the performance of star attacker Mohamed Salah summed up their inconsistent season.
The Egyptian forward ghosted through much of the match unnoticed, and smashed a penalty wide of the mark after Adam Smith was penalised for handball.
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The result saw Bournemouth jump off the foot of the table and landed a blow to Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
While Salah has clocked 22 goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances this season, it was his body language against Bournemouth that concerned former Liverpool player John Aldridge.
"In the last few seasons, Klopp’s team had too much pace, power and desire for these relegation battlers to handle," he told the Sunday World.
"Yet all that has changed – and I look at Mohamed Salah’s body language, and something isn’t right.
“After his goals against United last Sunday, I was looking to Salah to lead the team for the rest of the season and starring banging in two or three goals a week consistently.
"We all know how good Salah has been and still is, but he was dreadful yesterday and won’t need me to tell him that.
"Take his missed penalty out of the equation and he turned in a display that lacked passion – and I hate to write negative things about a player who is an all-time Liverpool great."
Aldridge went as as far as to suggest that it might be time for Liverpool to think about moving on from their all-time leading Premier League goalscorer.
"There may be a debate over whether selling Salah this summer and using that money to reinvest in the team may be an option, but that idea can wait until the end of the season.
"Between now and then, Salah has to lead Liverpool as the senior striker – and he simply didn’t do that at Bournemouth."
Salah - who has scored 178 goals and provided 74 assists in 292 appearances for Liverpool - signed a new contract last summer to extend his stay at Anfield until 2025.
Liverpool are favourites to sign Jude Bellingham in the summer, and if they raise funds through selling Salah, more big names could come in through the door.
