Liverpool could unleash Salah in a new role by hiring “unique” manager

Liverpool supporters will be dreaming of a golden crescendo to the 2023/24 campaign that would hand Jurgen Klopp a fitting send-off after many years of service at Anfield, top of the Premier League table after 24 matches.

Naturally, defending champions Manchester City are hot on their heels, while Arsenal are lurking ominously behind having dispatched the Reds at the Emirates Stadium at the start of February.

Whatever happens, the improvements on last year’s dismal efforts speak of a rich future, regardless of Klopp’s looming departure.

Of course, the right manager will need to be brought in to preserve the squad’s fluency and calibre…

The latest on Liverpool’s manager hunt

Xabi Alonso has been named as the “frontrunner” to succeed Klopp on Merseyside by The Athletic’s James Pearce and is clearly favoured by the Liverpool support, top of the Bundesliga this season with Bayer Leverkusen and producing some scintillating football.

However, he’s not the only candidate, with Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi thought to be one of the favourites, with Fabrizio Romano confirming to GIVEMESPORT earlier in February that he is “on the list.”

Liverpool had reportedly shown interest in the Italian manager one year ago when the struggling squad’s woes had sprouted conversation about Klopp’s future, so the groundwork has clearly been made ahead of a possible appointment.

Why De Zerbi is perfect for Mohamed Salah

Speaking of De Zerbi’s strengths as a manager, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was most effusive in his praise, saying that he is “one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years” and that “there is no team playing the way they play; it is unique.”

The 44-year-old’s style is something of a double-edged sword, with Brighton suffocating opponents as they dominate possession and wear them down with intricate passing patterns, though this high-output, vertical system has also spawned the joint-most errors leading to a goal in the Premier League this season with seven – alongside relegation favourites Sheffield United.

Liverpool are not really associated with a possession-based game, implementing a high-octane, self-branded ‘heavy metal’ style of football, but they are third in the table for passes made and so would be able to transition into De Zerbi’s set-up seamlessly.

De Zerbi would also find great success with Mohamed Salah, who he could shift into a central role to best suit his pass-heavy creative approach.

The 31-year-old Egyptian has been in stunning form this season and has posted 18 goals and nine assists across all competitions for Liverpool, though he is no longer the dribble-proficient winger that once blitzed Premier League defenders with ease.

As per FBref, the £350k-per-week goal machine ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking penalty area but only the top 39% for progressive carries and the top 67% for successful take-ons per 90.

Indeed, he’s completing less than one dribble per match in the top-flight this term (0.9); compare that to his record-breaking first campaign in Liverpool colours – making 2.2 dribbles per fixture – and it’s clear that he has changed his role in Klopp’s squad, albeit to devastating effect.

He’s also been more creative and less wreak-havoc-with-unrelenting-striking, denoting a fresh maturity and emphasis on his ball-playing and playmaking faculties.

Given that De Zerbi’s system requires progression and energy down the flanks to overlap and latch onto the sequential passing moves from the centre – Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March and Simon Adingra all surpass Salah in dribbles made this term – it might be wise to play Liverpool’s main man in a central role, creating and powering the set-up.