Liverpool have been here before, weighing up sentiment against strategy, icons against evolution. According to Graeme Bailey, speaking to Rousing The Kop, the club “are planning for his succession, whether it’s next year or the year after that.” Those words cut sharply through the emotion that surrounds Mohamed Salah, a player whose face might as well be etched into the Shankly Gates.
Preparing For Life Beyond Salah
The Egyptian forward penned a new contract earlier this year, tying him down until 2027, but the mood music around Anfield is shifting. His form has dipped, just “one non-penalty goal from six Premier League appearances this season”, and while nobody inside the club is panicking, the idea of a well-timed exit is no longer taboo.
Slot’s decision to rest Salah against Galatasaray was not just squad rotation. It was quiet foreshadowing. Liverpool are beginning to test what life looks like without their talisman in the starting XI.
£300m Already Spent For A Controlled Goodbye
Bailey makes it plain. “They’ve just spent the best part of £300m on Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.”
This is not contingency planning, this is succession formalised. Liverpool are not waiting to react. They are already staging the transition.
He goes further. “Even if he was the best player in the Premier League right now I don’t think you could rule him out of leaving next summer.”
That is perhaps the most telling line. For once, form does not matter. Age, timing and market value do.
Olise, Doue And The Wider Landscape
Talk of Michael Olise has inevitably surfaced, but Bailey dismisses an immediate move. “Olise is talking about a new deal at Bayern at the minute, I’m not sure he’s ready to leave in my opinion.”
Still, the radar is wide. “He’ll be on the agenda of so many teams just like Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola… clearly if and when Olise is available it would be a surprise if they weren’t in the mix for him.”
Liverpool are playing chess, not roulette.
From a supporter’s perspective, this is emotionally unsettling yet strategically impressive. Most would keep Salah at Anfield for as long as physically possible. He is one of the greatest players to ever wear the shirt and deserves another title parade, not a transactional exit.
But modern Liverpool are different to the sentimental Liverpool of old. Fans watched Sadio Mane leave at the right time. Roberto Firmino too. Players do not retire at Anfield any more, they depart with dignity while the team keeps improving.
If £300m has already been spent to soften the landing, supporters will accept it on one condition. The replacements must deliver immediately. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak cannot be projects, they must be protagonists. Hugo Ekitike must show substance beyond potential.
The fear is simple. If Salah goes and the goals go with him, history will not care about the balance sheet. The hope is just as clear. Liverpool have already started shaping version 2.0 of the Slot era. If this transition is handled correctly, his farewell could become the perfect launchpad rather than the end of an era.
“;
n.innerHTML = “window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode:’alternating-thumbnails-a’, container:’taboola-below-article-thumbnails’, placement:’Below Article Thumbnails’, target_type: ‘mix’});”;
insertAfter(t, e);
insertAfter(n, t)
}
injectWidgetByMarker(‘tbmarker’);
Read the full article here