ESPN reporter talks up Liverpool’s title chances but makes pertinent Mo Salah warning
ESPN writer Mark Ogden has talked up Liverpool’s chances of mounting a genuine challenge for the Premier League title this season, but warned that they need to make the most of Mo Salah while he’s still at the club.
With 10 matches played, the Reds are just three point off leaders Tottenham, and the Egyptian has risen to the fore as usual by scoring eight times in the top flight already this term (WhoScored).
His remarkably consistent return on the scoreboard shows exactly why the Anfield hierarchy gave no consideration whatsoever to a £150m transfer from Saudi Arabia at the start of September (The Guardian), although interest from the Middle East is expected to crop up again over the coming months.
In a piece for ESPN assessing each club’s Premier League season so far, Ogden wrote that a relatively kind fixture list between now and mid-December could see Liverpool ‘in an even better position than they are now’.
He added: “Liverpool look to have their mojo back and they are well-equipped to mount a serious title challenge. And with Saudi Arabian interest in Salah expected to return next summer, there is a good chance this could be the forward’s final year at Anfield, so Liverpool need to capitalise on the Egypt international’s goal threat as much as possible.”
With five of Liverpool’s next six league games against teams currently placed 10th or lower, including two in the relegation zone, there certainly seems to be an ideal opportunity to capitalise ahead of the visits of Manchester United and Arsenal to Anfield just before Christmas.
Should Salah continue to score at the phenomenal rate he’s shown over the past few months – and indeed right throughout his Reds career – there’s every chance that Jurgen Klopp’s side could be in the thick of a title race for the long haul this season.
We’re doing our best not to contemplate life after the Egyptian, but Ogden makes a fair point in saying that LFC need to make the most of the 31-year-old’s mercurial penalty box prowess while he remains a Red.
Liverpool have other forwards who are well able to rack up sizeable scoring tallies of their own, but Salah is such a rare specimen that it’ll be near-impossible for whoever comes in after him to replicate the same numbers in front of goal.
For as long as our number 11 is at Anfield, Klopp’s men always look capable of contending for major prizes. Let’s hope there’ll be more silverware for the legendary winger while he’s still weaving his magic on Merseyside.
#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
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