Mohamed Salah is a world-class player, almost everybody recognises that.
However, while Salah is widely seen as a fantastic footballer, Paul Merson still maintains that the Egyptian is an underrated player.
Indeed, speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (16/12/23 12:30PM) Paul Merson claimed that Salah is one of the most underrated players around, claiming that he doesn’t get the credit he deserves sometimes.
Salah is underrated
Merson shared his verdict on the winger.
“I like Liverpool I think they will really be up there. Five forwards, Salah on the right and then two of the other four and you can swap, and it doesn’t weaken the team. No other team can do that, not even Arsenal. Salah, for me, he’s probably the most underrated, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, the numbers he puts up are mind-boggling,” Merson said.
All-time great
As strange as it sounds, Merson may be right.
Look, everyone agrees that Salah is a fantastic player, and he isn’t underrated in that sense, but the wider conversation around his legacy now needs to happen.
Indeed, Salah needs to be considered among the very best to ever play this game now.
The winger has put up ridiculous numbers year after year. He’s well on his way to joining the Premier League 200 club, and he’s won all there is to win.
The winger is one of the best we’ve ever seen in the Premier League, and, by default, that makes him one of the greatest footballers of all-time.
The fact that Salah has never been on the Ballon d’Or podium is a borderline disgrace, because he’s certainly in the conversation of being the best player of his generation not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
Salah, somehow, does remain a bit underrated despite being recognised as one of the best around.
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Fabrizio Romano reacts to claims that Liverpool are trying to sign £56m midfielder
Liverpool are still yet to decide on what to do during the upcoming January transfer window.
With just over two weeks until they’re able to sign players again, Liverpool have been linked with a number of possible moves in the New Year.
One of those most frequently mentioned has been Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha. Just yesterday, German journalist Christian Falk claimed that the Reds are known to be ‘concretely interested’ in the 28-year-old.
However, Falk’s journalistic colleague Fabrizio Romano has now cooled down those reports. Writing in The Daily Briefing today, Romano claimed that there have been no talks between Palhinha and Liverpool as of yet.
“There have been lots of rumours regarding Fulham’s Joao Palhinha in recent weeks and I can honestly say that I don’t have concrete information on Liverpool being in talks to sign Palhinha yet,” says the transfer expert.
“For sure the top Premier League clubs are informed on the player’s situation at Craven Cottage but nothing has started in terms of negotiations with Joao or Fulham yet. Also, Liverpool still have to decide what areas of the pitch they want to invest in during the January transfer window.”
Romano cools Palhinha talk
This isn’t the first time Romano has had to come out and extinguish talk of Palhinha’s potential move to Liverpool recently.
The journalist did a similar thing earlier this week. On Tuesday he claimed that although there’s a ‘very good chance’ of a January move for the Portugal international, nothing is set in stone, or even close to being just yet.
As pretty much the gold standard when it comes to transfer news, Liverpool fans would be wise to take Romano’s word for it.
That will be disappointing for some, who see Palhinha as the answer to Jurgen Klopp’s defensive midfield problem. But for others, it may even be a relief.
Although it’s obvious that Palhinha is a very good player, there are question marks over his age and price-tag. Having already previously agreed a £56m deal to sell the former Sporting man to Bayern Munich [The Guardian], Fulham clearly want a big price for their No.26.
Given that his age is two numbers higher than the one he wears on his back for the Cottagers, it seems a hefty price to pay for a player who’s never been at a top club.
Consequently, we feel there may be better out there on the market. For example, Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi could be exactly what Liverpool are looking for.
From where we’re sitting, we actually don’t think the Reds will do any business at all in January. But if they do decide to move for Palhinha – or anyone else – the likelihood is that Romano will be on top of it.
Reported Liverpool target Johan Bakayoko has been speaking publicly about his future.
The 20-year-old has been on fire for PSV Eindhoven this season, leading to claims that Liverpool are now keeping a close eye on him.
Having already turned down a £34m move to Brentford during the summer though, Bakayoko is seemingly in no rush to leave PSV. And now, speaking to Belgian outlet Sudinfo, the young forward has named the Eredivisie leaders as the ‘club of his dreams’.
“In previous transfer windows, I knew that the plan was to stay at PSV,” Bakayoko explained. “And there was no way I was going to change my mind. It doesn’t matter what the offer is or what the identity of the club is. I don’t want to go against my principles. When I’ve decided something with those around me, I stick to it.
“When Brentford made an offer last summer, I didn’t think twice about it. It was clear in my mind that I was staying at PSV. I can understand that it surprises people that I do this.
“At the moment, what matters most to me is to be champions with PSV. The rest I haven’t thought about yet. A lot of people expect me to make the step towards a bigger championship next summer. But if PSV are champions, they are also guaranteed to play in the next Champions League. At the moment, PSV is the club of my dreams.”
Bakayoko determined to stay at PSV
Although it may ultimately work against Liverpool, this is still refreshing to hear from Bakayoko. These days, footballers can be too quick to move on from the clubs they make their names at.
Not to single him out too much, but take the example of Enzo Fernandez last January.
The World Cup winner had only been at Benfica for barely six months when Chelsea came knocking for him. Despite the pleas of the Portuguese giants, Enzo dug his heels in, pushed to leave and eventually got his monster move to England.
They’re obviously slightly different scenarios, and Brentford aren’t exactly Chelsea (even if they are ahead of them in the table). But still, Bakayoko stayed and is now reaping the rewards.
With four goals and eight assists in all competitions already, the Belgium international is showing that he could well be Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah successor.
Obviously, that’s a lot of pressure to put on Bakayoko’s development. Nevertheless, as one of the few exciting left-footed, right-sided forwards coming through, you’d imagine the Reds will be taking a long old look at the Belgian.
If PSV continue in the manner they are this season though, they won’t be the only ones. Peter Bosz’s side have remarkably won all 15 of their Eredivisie games this season and are through to the Champions League last-16.
They may be his dream team, but having swept captain Cody Gakpo from Eindhoven a year ago, Liverpool now have form for prising PSV’s top talents away. Let’s see if Bakayoko feels the same if the Reds come calling. For now though, let’s just keep enjoying watching this talent tear up the continent.
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