Liverpool are weighing up a £12 million offer for Basel winger Mohamed Salah, according to a report on Saturday.
As we reported earlier this week, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was spotted in Germany watching Schalke’s Champions League clash with Basel on Wednesday night.
Reports at the time suggested Rodgers was eyeing up German international midfielder Julian Draxler, but the Daily Mail reports this weekend that he was indeed scouting Basel’s Salah.
Simon Jones writes in Saturday morning’s paper:
Basel are now ready to sell their prized asset and want around £15m for a player who has been dubbed ‘the Egyptian Messi’ following his goals return of 17 in 26 internationals.
According to Squawka, Salah has scored twice and created seven chances in his six Champions League appearances for the Swiss side this season.
Liverpool could, however, face stiff competition for the signature of the 21-year-old Egyptian international. Jones adds:
Tottenham have also monitored Salah’s progress, notably watching him score against Chelsea in the Champions League home and away.
Rodgers is keen on improving his first-team come January, but a move for an attacking midfielder such as Salah may come as a surprise to fans.
Liverpool have struggled with depth in both full-back positions, and have only Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez are recognised, experienced strikers up front.
Liverpool have also been linked with moves for Hamburg midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore this week.
Liverpool are weighing up a £12 million offer for Basel winger Mohamed Salah, according to a report on Saturday.
As we reported earlier this week, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was spotted in Germany watching Schalke’s Champions League clash with Basel on Wednesday night.
Reports at the time suggested Rodgers was eyeing up German international midfielder Julian Draxler, but the Daily Mail reports this weekend that he was indeed scouting Basel’s Salah.
Simon Jones writes in Saturday morning’s paper:
Basel are now ready to sell their prized asset and want around £15m for a player who has been dubbed ‘the Egyptian Messi’ following his goals return of 17 in 26 internationals.
According to Squawka, Salah has scored twice and created seven chances in his six Champions League appearances for the Swiss side this season.
Liverpool could, however, face stiff competition for the signature of the 21-year-old Egyptian international. Jones adds:
Tottenham have also monitored Salah’s progress, notably watching him score against Chelsea in the Champions League home and away.
Rodgers is keen on improving his first-team come January, but a move for an attacking midfielder such as Salah may come as a surprise to fans.
Liverpool have struggled with depth in both full-back positions, and have only Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez are recognised, experienced strikers up front.
Liverpool have also been linked with moves for Hamburg midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore this week.
Rebecca Parry looks at the decline in action of Liverpool’s Daniel Agger this season.
Although having rumoured niggling injuries and fitness test stumbling blocks, Vice Captain Daniel Agger hasn’t seen much action for Liverpool this season.
This is surprising after he was only given the nod to take the honour in the Summer.
The centre back, who we all know likes to express his love for Liverpool, has seemingly gone under the radar after there was the odd report that he was out due to injury in the last couple of months.
What was surprising was the lack of involvement since he was back in the squad, but was most of the time sat on the bench. For a defender who has been so prominent for Liverpool since his arrival in 2006, the Summer buys to rival his position left him the victim.
It has been proven on the pitch that Brendan Rodgers just can’t seem to settle with the ideal centre back pairing. The defence which seems to have more combinations than a Rubiks cube, has just not seemed to have naturally found the two that will star in the best XI.
Although there has to be time to experiment, the time has come where a crucial set of Christmas fixtures can make or break our season.
For a player who has given so much for the club over the years, I think it’s time he deserves the minutes. It won’t take long for Agger to bed back into the side, and using his experience in doing so.
He and Skrtel you would think would be the more obvious choices considering the next away fixtures are Spurs, Man City and Chelsea, as they know what their coming up against.
After Agger recently tweeted that he “won’t be going anywhere” and he’ll be “back in the team soon”, you’d think that it’s not necessarily a preference from Rodgers, but more of a chance to experiment with the new additions he’s brought into the squad.
Of course, different teams will mean a different opposition strike force, and so it will be challenging to find a pairing that can suit the majority.
However, it’s the reason why Rodgers was so keen to add to the defence in the Summer – options is not what we’ve been used to in the last few seasons.
Although he doesn’t have the best track record of injuries, we haven’t seen the Dane is the team as much as we would like.
But with Steven Gerrard now out for the Christmas period, you would expect him to feature, and take the team forward with his leadership qualities.
This is especially significant in terms of players keeping their heads in fierce battles against the likes of Chelsea, where things have got heated in the past.
Can the Vice captain stand up and show why he was chosen to lead the team in Gerrard’s absence? Even though he hasn’t featured much this season, you would expect his experience to shine through in these next crucial fixtures.
Rebecca Parry looks at the decline in action of Liverpool’s Daniel Agger this season.
Although having rumoured niggling injuries and fitness test stumbling blocks, Vice Captain Daniel Agger hasn’t seen much action for Liverpool this season.
This is surprising after he was only given the nod to take the honour in the Summer.
The centre back, who we all know likes to express his love for Liverpool, has seemingly gone under the radar after there was the odd report that he was out due to injury in the last couple of months.
What was surprising was the lack of involvement since he was back in the squad, but was most of the time sat on the bench. For a defender who has been so prominent for Liverpool since his arrival in 2006, the Summer buys to rival his position left him the victim.
It has been proven on the pitch that Brendan Rodgers just can’t seem to settle with the ideal centre back pairing. The defence which seems to have more combinations than a Rubiks cube, has just not seemed to have naturally found the two that will star in the best XI.
Although there has to be time to experiment, the time has come where a crucial set of Christmas fixtures can make or break our season.
For a player who has given so much for the club over the years, I think it’s time he deserves the minutes. It won’t take long for Agger to bed back into the side, and using his experience in doing so.
He and Skrtel you would think would be the more obvious choices considering the next away fixtures are Spurs, Man City and Chelsea, as they know what their coming up against.
After Agger recently tweeted that he “won’t be going anywhere” and he’ll be “back in the team soon”, you’d think that it’s not necessarily a preference from Rodgers, but more of a chance to experiment with the new additions he’s brought into the squad.
Of course, different teams will mean a different opposition strike force, and so it will be challenging to find a pairing that can suit the majority.
However, it’s the reason why Rodgers was so keen to add to the defence in the Summer – options is not what we’ve been used to in the last few seasons.
Although he doesn’t have the best track record of injuries, we haven’t seen the Dane is the team as much as we would like.
But with Steven Gerrard now out for the Christmas period, you would expect him to feature, and take the team forward with his leadership qualities.
This is especially significant in terms of players keeping their heads in fierce battles against the likes of Chelsea, where things have got heated in the past.
Can the Vice captain stand up and show why he was chosen to lead the team in Gerrard’s absence? Even though he hasn’t featured much this season, you would expect his experience to shine through in these next crucial fixtures.
Liverpool travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday to take on Tottenham Hotspur, in the first of three vital away clashes for the Reds over the festive period.
Despite our 3-2 win over them in March, Spurs have had the better of our recent meetings, particularly at home; winning in all of our six previous visits to South London.
However, it’s not just big games at White Hart Lane that the Reds have fallen short in of late; since Brendan Rodgers‘ arrival, Liverpool have won just two of 15 clashes against last season’s top six (a group which Spurs are a part of): clearly a record we must improve on to stand a chance of securing a Champion’s League qualification place in May.
Steven Gerrard will of course miss this weekend’s game with a hamstring injury he picked up after taking a shot against West Ham. Reports have suggested he will be sidelined for at least a month. Due to the Reds’ skipper being directly involved in over a quarter of our Premier League goals this season, it would be easy and understandable to assume Gerrard’s absence could dent our chances of picking up points over the next couple of weeks.
However, I think those fears could prove unfulfilled. Gerrard’s tendency to often play direct passes, sometimes detracts from and undermines Brendan Rodgers’ philosophy, subsequently disrupting our rhythm; a replacement in midfield could see us play with more cohesion and fluidity. Eight of the nine goals our captain has been involved in during this campaign have been from set-pieces, and while we could miss his ridiculously precise deliveries, perhaps an improvement in general play will see us rely less on dead-ball situations.
Furthermore, after scoring nine goals in our last two games, and with Luis Suarez unquestionably in the best form of his career, there is warranted belief amongst Liverpool supporters that we can take three points from a slightly unsettled Spurs side on Sunday. The aforementioned Suarez has scored an astonishing 15 Premier League goals already this term, giving him the highest strike-rate of any player in Europe, and perhaps significantly, his goal tally is the same as Tottenham have managed as a team this season.
Another cause of optimism ahead of this weekend was born in Liverpool’s 4-1 hammering of West Ham last Saturday: the Reds took 20 shots from inside the box during the 90 minutes, the most of any game so far under Brendan Rodgers. While some supporters may bemoan the fact that we only scored four goals from this many attempts, it certainly highlights our domination and control of the match – something which has been lacking for the majority of 2013/14 (despite positive results).
There is also encouraging news for Liverpool on the availability of tireless midfielder Jordan Henderson. Various media sources had naively and prematurely reported that the former England Under-21 captain would be added to our injury woes, after seeing him wearing a protective boot on his foot at Melwood earlier this week. Thankfully though, Brendan Rodgers banished any doubt over Henderson’s fitness on Thursday night, saying “Jordan trained so he’s fine. It was just precautionary [the boot] the last few days.”
Spurs approach Sunday’s game unbeaten in their last five matches (W4 D1) in all competitions. It is a record which may surprise people due to the negative portrayal of the club this season; it seems as if the media are almost willing Andre Villas-Boas to be unsuccessful after the departure of Gareth Bale in the summer. In fact, a win at the weekend would place them level on points with us and they have only once had a better points total at this stage of a season than they currently have. Things aren’t as desperate at Tottenham as is being made out.
It’s obvious that scoring goals in the Premier League has been Spurs’ main issue this campaign, with £26m summer arrival Roberto Soldado taking time to adapt to the Premier League, scoring four goals in 13 appearances so far – although he did manage a hat-trick against a fairly uninspired Anzhi side in the Europa League on Thursday. Despite his lean, domestic scoring record, he is the Londoners’ leading Premier League scorer this season.
The continued absence, through injury, of Jan Vertonghen could prove key on Sunday, and is something Reds’ fans should definitely take solace in. The Belgian is one of the most sophisticated defenders in Europe, comfortable with and without the ball, leading by example and will undoubtedly be missed by the home side. Elsewhere in defence, however, the energetic Danny Rose looks set for a return to the side at left-back, after stepping up his recovery from a long-term toe injury by playing 45 minutes against Anzhi on Thursday.
Predicting an outcome of Sunday’s clash is an almost impossible task, although there are a couple of relative certainties. I’m expecting an open, flowing game with both goalkeepers being worked incessantly. After all, Liverpool and Spurs have taken 17.1 and 17.9 shots per game so far this campaign, first and second most in the Premier League.
I’ve a feeling this one could be decided by a sudden moment of genius, and without Gareth Bale on the pitch, there is surely only one man who could provide that, isn’t there?
Adam
@whatahitsonlfc
Liverpool travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday to take on Tottenham Hotspur, in the first of three vital away clashes for the Reds over the festive period.
Despite our 3-2 win over them in March, Spurs have had the better of our recent meetings, particularly at home; winning in all of our six previous visits to South London.
However, it’s not just big games at White Hart Lane that the Reds have fallen short in of late; since Brendan Rodgers‘ arrival, Liverpool have won just two of 15 clashes against last season’s top six (a group which Spurs are a part of): clearly a record we must improve on to stand a chance of securing a Champion’s League qualification place in May.
Steven Gerrard will of course miss this weekend’s game with a hamstring injury he picked up after taking a shot against West Ham. Reports have suggested he will be sidelined for at least a month. Due to the Reds’ skipper being directly involved in over a quarter of our Premier League goals this season, it would be easy and understandable to assume Gerrard’s absence could dent our chances of picking up points over the next couple of weeks.
However, I think those fears could prove unfulfilled. Gerrard’s tendency to often play direct passes, sometimes detracts from and undermines Brendan Rodgers’ philosophy, subsequently disrupting our rhythm; a replacement in midfield could see us play with more cohesion and fluidity. Eight of the nine goals our captain has been involved in during this campaign have been from set-pieces, and while we could miss his ridiculously precise deliveries, perhaps an improvement in general play will see us rely less on dead-ball situations.
Furthermore, after scoring nine goals in our last two games, and with Luis Suarez unquestionably in the best form of his career, there is warranted belief amongst Liverpool supporters that we can take three points from a slightly unsettled Spurs side on Sunday. The aforementioned Suarez has scored an astonishing 15 Premier League goals already this term, giving him the highest strike-rate of any player in Europe, and perhaps significantly, his goal tally is the same as Tottenham have managed as a team this season.
Another cause of optimism ahead of this weekend was born in Liverpool’s 4-1 hammering of West Ham last Saturday: the Reds took 20 shots from inside the box during the 90 minutes, the most of any game so far under Brendan Rodgers. While some supporters may bemoan the fact that we only scored four goals from this many attempts, it certainly highlights our domination and control of the match – something which has been lacking for the majority of 2013/14 (despite positive results).
There is also encouraging news for Liverpool on the availability of tireless midfielder Jordan Henderson. Various media sources had naively and prematurely reported that the former England Under-21 captain would be added to our injury woes, after seeing him wearing a protective boot on his foot at Melwood earlier this week. Thankfully though, Brendan Rodgers banished any doubt over Henderson’s fitness on Thursday night, saying “Jordan trained so he’s fine. It was just precautionary [the boot] the last few days.”
Spurs approach Sunday’s game unbeaten in their last five matches (W4 D1) in all competitions. It is a record which may surprise people due to the negative portrayal of the club this season; it seems as if the media are almost willing Andre Villas-Boas to be unsuccessful after the departure of Gareth Bale in the summer. In fact, a win at the weekend would place them level on points with us and they have only once had a better points total at this stage of a season than they currently have. Things aren’t as desperate at Tottenham as is being made out.
It’s obvious that scoring goals in the Premier League has been Spurs’ main issue this campaign, with £26m summer arrival Roberto Soldado taking time to adapt to the Premier League, scoring four goals in 13 appearances so far – although he did manage a hat-trick against a fairly uninspired Anzhi side in the Europa League on Thursday. Despite his lean, domestic scoring record, he is the Londoners’ leading Premier League scorer this season.
The continued absence, through injury, of Jan Vertonghen could prove key on Sunday, and is something Reds’ fans should definitely take solace in. The Belgian is one of the most sophisticated defenders in Europe, comfortable with and without the ball, leading by example and will undoubtedly be missed by the home side. Elsewhere in defence, however, the energetic Danny Rose looks set for a return to the side at left-back, after stepping up his recovery from a long-term toe injury by playing 45 minutes against Anzhi on Thursday.
Predicting an outcome of Sunday’s clash is an almost impossible task, although there are a couple of relative certainties. I’m expecting an open, flowing game with both goalkeepers being worked incessantly. After all, Liverpool and Spurs have taken 17.1 and 17.9 shots per game so far this campaign, first and second most in the Premier League.
I’ve a feeling this one could be decided by a sudden moment of genius, and without Gareth Bale on the pitch, there is surely only one man who could provide that, isn’t there?
Adam
@whatahitsonlfc
Kopites have got some tasty festive fixtures to get their teeth into as a complement to the Christmas turkey.
Up to this point, Liverpool supporters can be satisfied with the Reds’ season so far. Few were brave enough to predict that Brendan Rodgers’ side would sit second in the table come the middle of December, but that’s where they find themselves, boasting the second highest goals tally in the League and enjoying a highly respectable average return of two points per match.
However, the next few weeks contain three season-defining fixtures that will give strong indicators as to whether the Reds can sustain their brilliant start and keep pace at the top or fall away from the dizzying heights of the upper echelons of the Premier League table.
To make things even more difficult and, at the same time, interesting, Liverpool will have to complete those three matches without two of their talismanic players, as skipper Steven Gerrard and star striker Daniel Sturridge spend the festive season on the treatment table.
First up on Sunday, Liverpool make the long trip south to their bogey ground White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Worryingly, the Merseysiders have returned home from North London after suffering a disappointing defeat in their last six matches at the stadium, as May 2008 was the last time Liverpool took any points from an away match versus Spurs.
Moreover, after a difficult spell in which the future of manager Andre-Villas Boas was somewhat pre-maturely called into question, Spurs’ form has improved noticeably.
After hitting rock bottom at the Etihad Stadium when they embarrassingly lost 6-0 to Manchester City, Tottenham have turned a corner, picking up a point against City’s local rivals United and coming from behind twice to secure morale boosting wins on the road against Fulham and Sunderland.
Hopefully they’ll be tired after their Thursday night exertions in the Europa League, although a 4-1 home victory over Anzhi can only do good for their confidence and they did not face an exhausting trip back home from some far flung corner of Eastern Europe either.
Tottenham’s goalscoring record gives Liverpool hope, however. The Londoners have struggled in front of goal this season, scoring only 15 goals, the same as Luis Suarez has managed despite his suspension at the start of the season.
If the Reds can tighten up at the back and keep Tottenham out, they can reasonably rely on their magical number seven to bang them in at the other end.
After a home match against Cardiff City, from which three points are an absolute must, Liverpool face their toughest two games of the season in the space of four days.
Both Manchester City and Chelsea have imperious home records that it will take a mighty effort to break on Boxing Day and on the 29th December respectively.
City have had a schizophrenic season. At the Etihad, they have been world beaters, winning all seven of their home matches so far and achieving a remarkable goal difference of +27 in the process.
On the road, however, City switch from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde, being beaten four times and achieving an underwhelming goal difference of -1.
Chelsea, meanwhile, possess an even more intimidating home record under the managerial reign of the ever-controversial Jose Mourinho.
With the Portuguese boss in the dugout, the Blues have an unbeaten home record in the League stretching back an astonishing 67 matches across his first spell at the club between 2004 and 2007 and since his return for this campaign.
While I’d like to be naively optimistic and think Liverpool have a realistic chance of breaking those two records and having the Christmas to beat all Christmases, I must be honest and admit the festive fixture list is a daunting one from which I’d be ecstatic if we collected eight points out of twelve.
Victories over Tottenham and Cardiff and draws at the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge would make it a very Merry Christmas for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
On the other hand, setbacks in matches against our main rivals for Champions League qualification could leave Liverpool with a nasty hangover come New Year.
Let’s hope Kopites are savouring the taste of a successful Christmas spell and not just the taste of tender turkey this festive season.
Merry Christmas!
YNWA
Kopites have got some tasty festive fixtures to get their teeth into as a complement to the Christmas turkey.
Up to this point, Liverpool supporters can be satisfied with the Reds’ season so far. Few were brave enough to predict that Brendan Rodgers’ side would sit second in the table come the middle of December, but that’s where they find themselves, boasting the second highest goals tally in the League and enjoying a highly respectable average return of two points per match.
However, the next few weeks contain three season-defining fixtures that will give strong indicators as to whether the Reds can sustain their brilliant start and keep pace at the top or fall away from the dizzying heights of the upper echelons of the Premier League table.
To make things even more difficult and, at the same time, interesting, Liverpool will have to complete those three matches without two of their talismanic players, as skipper Steven Gerrard and star striker Daniel Sturridge spend the festive season on the treatment table.
First up on Sunday, Liverpool make the long trip south to their bogey ground White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Worryingly, the Merseysiders have returned home from North London after suffering a disappointing defeat in their last six matches at the stadium, as May 2008 was the last time Liverpool took any points from an away match versus Spurs.
Moreover, after a difficult spell in which the future of manager Andre-Villas Boas was somewhat pre-maturely called into question, Spurs’ form has improved noticeably.
After hitting rock bottom at the Etihad Stadium when they embarrassingly lost 6-0 to Manchester City, Tottenham have turned a corner, picking up a point against City’s local rivals United and coming from behind twice to secure morale boosting wins on the road against Fulham and Sunderland.
Hopefully they’ll be tired after their Thursday night exertions in the Europa League, although a 4-1 home victory over Anzhi can only do good for their confidence and they did not face an exhausting trip back home from some far flung corner of Eastern Europe either.
Tottenham’s goalscoring record gives Liverpool hope, however. The Londoners have struggled in front of goal this season, scoring only 15 goals, the same as Luis Suarez has managed despite his suspension at the start of the season.
If the Reds can tighten up at the back and keep Tottenham out, they can reasonably rely on their magical number seven to bang them in at the other end.
After a home match against Cardiff City, from which three points are an absolute must, Liverpool face their toughest two games of the season in the space of four days.
Both Manchester City and Chelsea have imperious home records that it will take a mighty effort to break on Boxing Day and on the 29th December respectively.
City have had a schizophrenic season. At the Etihad, they have been world beaters, winning all seven of their home matches so far and achieving a remarkable goal difference of +27 in the process.
On the road, however, City switch from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde, being beaten four times and achieving an underwhelming goal difference of -1.
Chelsea, meanwhile, possess an even more intimidating home record under the managerial reign of the ever-controversial Jose Mourinho.
With the Portuguese boss in the dugout, the Blues have an unbeaten home record in the League stretching back an astonishing 67 matches across his first spell at the club between 2004 and 2007 and since his return for this campaign.
While I’d like to be naively optimistic and think Liverpool have a realistic chance of breaking those two records and having the Christmas to beat all Christmases, I must be honest and admit the festive fixture list is a daunting one from which I’d be ecstatic if we collected eight points out of twelve.
Victories over Tottenham and Cardiff and draws at the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge would make it a very Merry Christmas for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
On the other hand, setbacks in matches against our main rivals for Champions League qualification could leave Liverpool with a nasty hangover come New Year.
Let’s hope Kopites are savouring the taste of a successful Christmas spell and not just the taste of tender turkey this festive season.
Merry Christmas!
YNWA
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