Liverpool FC news recap: Salah time RUNNING OUT, Trent's BIG DECISION, Neville's AWFUL take

Anfield Watch

·13 November 2024

Liverpool FC news recap: Salah time RUNNING OUT, Trent's BIG DECISION, Neville's AWFUL take

Robertson tells Arne Slot he's WRONG

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Andy Robertson believes Arne Slot is wrong about the current Liverpool team. The Scot has been very open with his assessment.

Andy Robertson admits he hasn't been at his best lately. The left-back struggled quite badly for 45 minutes against Arsenal a few weeks ago - arguably the worst 45 of his Liverpool career.

And for any player 30 and over, that leads to accusations of being past it.

Now, some weren't thrilled with Robertson's performances last season, either, but there's no denying that he hasn't quite hit the levels we know he can reach.

Madrid offer can go in the BIN

Liverpool shouldn't waste their time with a new offer from Real Madrid. The European champions can forget it.

ABC in Spain claims Real Madrid are essentially forced to try and sign Trent Alexander-Arnold in January. They're expecting to get him next summer with the expiry of his contract - but plans have changed.

Basically, they're struggling for numbers. Dani Carvajal's out for the rest of the season, leaving them without an elite right-back. That's a problem for a team hoping to retain their UEFA Champions League crown.

Alexander-Arnold is seen as the long-term replacement, making a January transfer semi-pointless - such a player would be out of a job by next season.

Unless, of course, that January signing is Alexander-Arnold. Real are going to try and find an agreement with Liverpool this winter to bring the Scouser in early.

And it's one the Reds should drop straight into the bin.

Liverpool 'far apart' in superstar contract talks

It will come as a surprise to no one that Liverpool’s best player for the first three months of the season has been Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian King is in fine form and has continued to be the main man for Liverpool following the arrival of Arne Slot this summer. Ryan Gravenberch has also put in a good claim for Liverpool’s best player so far this campaign, but the contributions of Salah simply cannot be overlooked.

Salah’s fantastic start to the season has been bittersweet however, as many supporters are becoming increasingly worried this could be his last campaign for Liverpool.

The Egyptian is one of three Liverpool stars, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose contracts are set to expire at the end of the season. Although the summer seems a long time away, time could be running out for the club to get their talisman tied down to an extension.

Arne Slot has hit the ground running in Liverpool, and it almost seems like he has had the Midas touch since his arrival in Merseyside.

Liverpool currently sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League and also remain the only team to won all of their UEFA Champions League matches. The Reds’ new head coach has won 15 of his opening 17 matches, drawing away to supposed title contenders Arsenal and losing at home to Nottingham Forest, who surprisingly sit fifth in the league.

But not everything Slot has done since becoming the boss at Anfield has paid off, and many supporters will regard his only transfer window so far as a disappointing one.

In Slot’s maiden transfer window at Liverpool, he only completed one signing, Federico Chiesa, although a deal was also agreed for the future transfer of Giorgi Mamardashvili, who will join the Reds in the summer of 2025.

Chiesa has only managed 78 minutes of football so far this season, although he did provide an assist in this time, and now reports suggest a January exit could be looming for the Italian.

Trent's BIG DECISION

Trent Alexander-Arnold has completed football with Liverpool. The 26-year-old is into his eighth season as a starter for his boyhood club. It could well be his last at Anfield.

The England international is into the final year of his deal. He's free to speak to clubs in January, and it is no secret that Real Madrid and Barcelona are both keen on the transformative right-back. Real Madrid are already putting in the work behind the scenes.

Their playbook is well known. The reigning LaLiga champions use their leverage in the Spanish media to make their plans known. Marca, for example, reported last week that the 15-times champions of Europe view the Liverpool No.66 as a necessity.

He's considered the heir to Dani Carvajal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Gary Neville's AWFUL David Coote hot take

Gary Neville has finally got round to having his say on the David Coote affair.

In case you missed it, the 42-year-old Premier League referee has been suspended pending a full investigation from PGMOL over the contents of a video in which he allegedly disclosed biases against both Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp.

Neville usually has plenty to say about everything concerning Liverpool and he’s usually wrong. This time however, he may have outdone himself.

On the “It’s Called Soccer” show for the Overlap US alongside FIFA referee Christina Unkel and host Rebecca Lowe, Neville disagreed with Unkel’s assessment that Coote should never referee again in the Premier League if found guilty.

Instead he was content to wave away her expert opinion and launch a bizarre and impassioned plea on behalf of Coote that took in everything from minimisation to selective omission. It really was a masterclass in poor argument.

Anyway, I have tried several times to muster a response to what I’ve seen but the only way I feel I can do it justice is to literally go through it line by line telling Neville how and why he is wrong.

Harvey Elliott is nearly back in the fold at Liverpool. But he faces an uphill battle to get into the team under Arne Slot.

Harvey Elliott is nearing his return for Liverpool.

The 21-year-old has trained with the Under 21s this week, continuing his comeback from injury. It's been a very difficult time for Elliott. Rewind to the start of the year and Jurgen Klopp was hailing him for being the team's 'best player' for a period.

He ended the season on fire, too, and legitimately did look like a star. The feeling was that Elliott would explode past the other midfielders, pretty much all of whom were struggling for consistency.

But things have changed.

As Elliott nears that comeback, the lay of the land is very different at Liverpool and it's questionable how he gets into the team. The youngster has played just seven minutes this season, after all, as he wasn't getting games even before the injury.