Statistically, Mohamed Salah has had his best season (33 goals and 23 assists) in a Liverpool shirt — as Arne Slot deserves massive credit for taking his game to another level.
Salah praised Slot’s tactical setup that allowed him to defend less and stay up the pitch to conserve his energy towards scoring and assisting goals.
The Liverpool manager has well and truly unleashed the best of the Egyptian superstar and considering he is ageing like fine wine, the 32-year-old is expected to terrorise defences next season as well.
But despite how outstanding a player Mohamed Salah is, he must stay on his toes at all times as Arne Slot has demonstrated that he does not hesitate from taking unorthodox tactical decisions.
Liverpool are set to sign Jeremie Frimpong and Slot will have to navigate how his countryman can develop as deadly a partnership with Salah as the latter shared with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jeremie Frimpong could force Mohamed Salah to play centrally for Liverpool
Frimpong could play as a wing-back for Liverpool, which could mean Salah is forced to play in a more central role next season.
The two-time Premier League winner was deployed in a similar role by Jurgen Klopp in the 2022/2023 season, while he also played as a striker by the German manager in the 2018/2019 season for a while.
Arne Slot has lauded Salah’s professionalism and it would be no surprise if he is happy to change his game up to accommodate Frimpong, whose arrival could prompt the Reds boss to play a back three next season.
When the Champions League winner played alongside Alexander-Arnold, the pair interchanged positions at all times but that was down to their telepathic understanding of playing with each other for years on end.
But if Jeremie Frimpong indeed plays as a wing-back at Liverpool, Salah will have to adjust to staying in a nigh-on fixed position up front and even for a player of his calibre, that will be a challenging task.
Salah has fared well in a central role in the past and with how much he has adapted his game as a creator over the years, it would be futile to place any doubts over one of the most complete players in the world.
Pep Ljinders explained why Salah loves playing as a striker
Ultimately, Salah’s main focus will be to continue lifting trophies at Liverpool, whether that is as a traditional right-winger or centrally — as well as helping potential new signings like Frimpong as one of Liverpool’s leaders.
In 2019, Pep Ljinders revealed the rationale behind playing Salah centrally in 2019 via ESPN: “First of all, he has the ability to create from the inside. That differentiates him from many others. To have him in the last line as high as we can, with the speed he has, the goal threat he has, makes it for us easier to create a freer role for Bobby [Roberto Firmino].”
“For Mo, it’s really good to understand the game in that way, to be the point. We still try to be flexible in the way we play. There will be moments where we play with three and moments with two.”
Pep Ljinders also mentioned why Salah enjoys playing as a striker: “For him it’s great. He’s closer to the goal, he can use his speed more, he’s more where we want him to be. That’s a natural development for him. He’s a real goalscorer. The only thing with that freedom and with that versatility, he should keep that first impulse of pressing.”
